Well General Election polling might be all the rage throughout the UK today and rightly so (and we will be voting ourselves later today) but nature stops for no political party and looking out of the open window it feels and sounds pretty much like any other day in paradise: the sun is trying to breaking through, the cattle and sheep are grazing and somewhere in the distance I can hear a farm tractor. But there are sounds which I have started to notice more as we continue on our journey of transition from rural to country life: the birds.
Now to date, my experience of birds has been pretty limited: the terrifying experience of my little hand being trust into the air at the seaside so that the biggest seagull in the world could snatch a chip from it in mid- flight (I didn’t think it was funny given that it was my fingers at risk!); the pigeon frenzy in Trafalgar Square on the odd occasion I was summoned to the Ministry of Defence; on a more positive note I have seen schools of flying fish keeping in station with one of the ships I served in and I have seen massive pelicans on the beach in Mexico. But when it really comes down to it my ability to spot anything more subtle than the above is about as limited as my knowledge of fauna and flora. But, my challenge has been made much easier because I don’t have to go anywhere to see the variety of winged wonders, big and small, that inhabit this area – whether all year round or only at certain times.
Fear not I won’t run through them all but I will proudly announce that I can recognise the following: a goldfinch; a chough; an oystercatcher; a swift, a swallow and a house-martin(below left); a pied wagtail (below right); and I can tell the difference between a crow and a raven; and more impressive still a buzzard from a red kite (below middle)! Not bad! And to boot, I am also starting to recognise the calls of one or two of them!
I confess that I now own a bird-spotting book which I take with me when I am out and about and why not. Those who read my previous blog about the perils of technology for the walker will soon recognise that observation is becoming a bit of a theme. Looking up and around to observe the wonders (in this case birds) of the area we are walking in should be one of the core aims of any walker. All I am saying here is that observing the birds is another part of the positive experience which walking provides.
I have three little bird stories which are based on my own observations.
Firstly, if you have a Land Rover and you don’t move it for about 10 days in early April, you might start to see a pied wagtail hopping around underneath it with leaves and grass in its beak. And if you still don’t move it you might end up with a nest in the chassis! I did move the Land Rover because I didn’t want this little pied wagtail to get too settled and start thinking about laying eggs under there. I coin a phrase it really was spitting feathers when I drove off with its house underneath.
Secondly, house martins disappear off to Africa during our winter and come back here in the spring and they nest in the eaves and the door porches of our cottages (see below left and right). This is great – nature up close but the downside is that they drop their ….. their droppings(!) on the door mats (see below middle) and one did its business in my open toolbox the other day when I was fixing up some external lights! No matter.
Finally, the red kite fight which I saw last week was exciting, noisy, quite frightening and sad all at once and it was all over in a few seconds. I was outside working in the garden and I could hear the haunting and echoing cry of the red kites which frequent this area in descent numbers. Their call sounds a bit like a drawn out Eeyore as in the donkey in Winnie the Pooh and in the wild it is absolutely beautiful. I would strongly advise you to visit a red kite feeding station if you ever get the chance. They normally glide quite high up on the thermals and occasionally come lower to feed. Anyhow, I was looking down at the ground and I saw a shadow shoot across the garden and in the same instant I heard the rapid beating of wings against wings. I looked up just in time to see two kites locked together fighting over some small catch and they both hit the ground about 50 feet from where I stood with such force that I thought they would both be goners. But fortunately both recovered and as quickly as they came down, they flew away is opposite directions. Amazing – nature at its best and worst all in one. My other red kite experience was watching three crows work together to continually dive towards one red kite to drive it away from their feeding area. I didn’t like that although I have to say the crows were brave!
I’ll keep twitching and let you know what else I learn about our feathered wonders.