Birdwatching.
Watch this postAre there any enthusiastic ornithologists out there? Either out in the field. Or maybe just the back garden. I am nearly 70 and have been bird watching since I was a 12yo schoolboy at a boarding school right in the heart of the Dorset countryside. And I am thrilled that since coming to Scotland, I have so far.seen four birds that I never ever spotted in England! And I saw my very first red squirrel up here too.
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My neighbor unfortunately has 4 moggies as she likes rescuing cats bless her however we bought them all collars with bells to help the birds.
This year I chopped down a section of hedge in order to watch the wildlife on the lake. The swans successfully reared five young; they’re just getting their adult plumage and it’s been wonderful seeing them learn to fly and gradually moving a little further from the parent birds as they glide across the water. There have been herons and cormorants, numerous ducks and geese, moor hens and coots.
The buzzards circled overhead daily, two families of robins busied themselves, the noisiest little wrens imaginable nested at the end of the garden. Owls hoot most evenings and two little owls peep out of a nearby tree in daylight.
It’s been a wonderful summer.
I live in Cheshire, fortunately in a great location, but before I was widowed I lived in Pembrokeshire, far more lovely and so much wildlife on our doorstep. I still half own a little woodland that Mike planted there. I miss it enormously.
But life changes and it would be very ungrateful not to appreciate the wonders of wherever we find ourselves.
I planted a wild flower patch in spring. I hope it will have self seeded for next year. Some dats, the buzzing of industrious bees was so loud that I could hear it from the kitchen door! We had butterflies galore, and a wasp nest beneath the hedge; I mowed the grass occasionally but wasn’t afraid. They never bothered me at all.
Two of my grandchildren spent many weeks here over lockdown. They made a toad house... we have a substantial population here. We put one of those big buckets that you use for wetsuits in the wild bit and behold.... one evening, having nurtured our tadpoles for ages, tiny little froglets were passing by in their hundreds. The joy on the children’s faces showed that a new generation of wildlife lovers was in the making. I’m just very sorry that my generation has destroyed so much of what we should have preserved for them
But there is hope. Always.
It’s been a beautiful day here and, as you suggest, the colours are glorious, although fading fast. I had a long walk and a couple of hours in the garden. No idea what I’m doing, really, but it’s good to be physical and in the fresh air.
Some online teaching this evening...a complete change but enjoyable. Otherwise I’d hardly get to speak at all!
Today it is a cold misty morning on the Monsal Trail very few birds around and hardly any one out. It is quite pleasant though and I am enjoying my walk. Suddenly in front of me a sizeable bird sweeps low across the path. Sparrow Hawk comes to mind but I am not seeing it well enough to identify it for certain. I follow it as it flies fast and low over the adjacent field. It is very skilful turning its body this way and that as it goes along. Yes it could be a Sparrow Hawk certainly it is a bird of prey and it appears heavier than a Kestral and smaller than a buzzard. As I walk there are drops appearing on the small overhanging branches signalling that the sun is breaking through the mist is melting the frost. I can hear the drops falling like rain and I can hear the birds start to sing. The robin and the long tail tits are out and the blackbird is in the gulley throwing up the fallen leaves in his search for a tasty morsel. He bobs off into the undergrowth when he realises I am watching him.
Well that's it for today next time I log on it would be lovely to read something from a like minded Silversurfer....here's hoping.
What are the four new species of birds that you have spotted up in Scotland?