Quiet despair, intense pleasure
It has been a week of mixed work and pleasure. Sitting in an office, trying to remember how to use various software and systems does keep my mind sharp I suppose, and it also reminds me of how to interact socially. If I were just to spend my time walking footpaths and meeting birders then I would soon become a social misfit. Enough said...
My visits to Canons Farm have neatly summed up the lot of a patch watcher - periods of quiet despair punctuated by moments of intense pleasure (this is all relative, you understand!). The joy has come courtesy of both male Ring Ouzel and Common Redstart (below), those eagerly anticipated 'next drawer up' migrants, not quite a Stone Curlew but better than a Willow Warbler. There has also been a marked passage of Common Buzzards. We have 14-15 local birds, with any 360 degree scan of the sky on a fair day resulting in buteo excess. We know where the territories are, where the 'spare' birds hang out, so can gage when migrants pass through. It does help to identify them when they come in groups (up to six) or are escorted off the premises by the breeders. A few Red Kites have also joined in the fun. The fields have had heavy machinery on them, and this disturbance has resulted in a corvid and pigeon feeding frenzy - up to 300 Stock Dove are the current highlight. What with singing Skylarks and Yellowhammers on hand, it is a most agreeable place to be at the moment.
My visits to Canons Farm have neatly summed up the lot of a patch watcher - periods of quiet despair punctuated by moments of intense pleasure (this is all relative, you understand!). The joy has come courtesy of both male Ring Ouzel and Common Redstart (below), those eagerly anticipated 'next drawer up' migrants, not quite a Stone Curlew but better than a Willow Warbler. There has also been a marked passage of Common Buzzards. We have 14-15 local birds, with any 360 degree scan of the sky on a fair day resulting in buteo excess. We know where the territories are, where the 'spare' birds hang out, so can gage when migrants pass through. It does help to identify them when they come in groups (up to six) or are escorted off the premises by the breeders. A few Red Kites have also joined in the fun. The fields have had heavy machinery on them, and this disturbance has resulted in a corvid and pigeon feeding frenzy - up to 300 Stock Dove are the current highlight. What with singing Skylarks and Yellowhammers on hand, it is a most agreeable place to be at the moment.
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