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The Birds Are Back In Town

TheCatWoman

The swallows seem to have gone and all our winter residents are back, every evening for the past couple of weeks we've had skeins of geese, swans and other water birds flying over. Today on our walk I saw some Little Egrets, one of whom went after a fish swiming near the surface and got chased off, I think it was one of those fish that are all mouth and teeth, we get lots of them here. I saw Herons, Oyster Catchers and a dipper bird that I can't remember the name of but was on Springwatch.

We have a goldfinch visiting our garden, the robins are singing, the Starlings are mumerating and the sparrows squabbling, the RAF are just noisy.

Parents

  • I love the sound of the geese as they fly over and I often wave to them! I do miss the swifts screaming past. I saw a pair of grey heron fly quietly over me the other day.

    When I visit my friends' allotment, I visit their neighbours' runner ducks and their chatter always brightens my day. 

    The RAF fast jets fly over our village several times daily and, after almost 20 years here, I have come to find them reassuring, much as I believe in peace.

    Garden power tools (especially chainsaws and leaf blowers) and people playing with drones are what I find noisy and irritating these days.

  • in reply to leveller61

    On days when we're right under the take off and landing flight path it feels as though the sky will rip and as they're low I can feel it creep up my spine and sometimes can't help but to throw myself to the ground, especially on low flying fortnight.

    We have a chap who flies a microlight around on sunny weekends and my instant response is to get a giant rolled up newspaper and swat him. Luckily we've not had drones, they'd probably make me want to swat them too.

    Late last week we had the police helicopter hovering overhead for two nights, at one point the whole house was vibrating.

    We've got more and more starlings appearing, I love the way they squabble until the robin comes along and sorts them out.

  • in reply to TheCatWoman

    They closed our nearby base a few years back so I recall what you describe but no longer experience it.

    Glad you are getting more starlings. I think they are lovely. They sometimes use our bird bath and I love to see their iridescence.

  • in reply to TheCatWoman
    TheCatWoman said:
    I never knew they had so many and different types of aircraft there! I'm not sure what fighter jets can do to help look for a child, but at least they went and tried to find her.

    So they are useful?

  • in reply to leveller61

    You're lucky, it's interesting living near an RAF base, you can be sitting in the garden and all of a sudden an Apache helicoptor appear over a hill and you suddenly feel as though your an extra in a remake of Apocalypse Now. 

    It does get a bit concerning though when the mobile and interenet signal drop out and theres loads of planes going over, it makes you wonder whats going on? It could be anything from WW3 to a missing child, when April Jones went missing some years ago the base emptied out, I never knew they had so many and different types of aircraft there! I'm not sure what fighter jets can do to help look for a child, but at least they went and tried to find her.

    All of this years baby starlings have lovely new plumage and look magniicent in the bath!

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  • in reply to leveller61

    You're lucky, it's interesting living near an RAF base, you can be sitting in the garden and all of a sudden an Apache helicoptor appear over a hill and you suddenly feel as though your an extra in a remake of Apocalypse Now. 

    It does get a bit concerning though when the mobile and interenet signal drop out and theres loads of planes going over, it makes you wonder whats going on? It could be anything from WW3 to a missing child, when April Jones went missing some years ago the base emptied out, I never knew they had so many and different types of aircraft there! I'm not sure what fighter jets can do to help look for a child, but at least they went and tried to find her.

    All of this years baby starlings have lovely new plumage and look magniicent in the bath!

Children