I’ve never lived in a place where there is so much bird busyness in our airspace. Recently, the hundreds of jackdaws that roost in the old ash trees of Bishops Castle’s gardens have started putting on dramatic aerial displays. It usually begins in the treetops with a burst of raucous chaka-chak-chaking and then a huge whoosh that disturbs the air, and all for no reason that this human can discern.
The flocks stream out from their roosts, billowing and swarming over the town. Then there is swirling, dividing, and swarming once more. Not quite the mesmerizing dance of starling murmurations, but almost.
And then, at last, when whatever needed to be sorted out, is, they return to settle once more in the treetops.
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This particular tree is on the hillside above our house.
And then, in between the jackdaw shows, there are the red kites to spot – sometimes in pairs, sometimes singly. Again, they cruise above the town and we often have a good view of them while we’re eating lunch. This is one advantage of having our dining table in the sitting room while the new kitchen is being built. There’s a nice big window for sky viewing. And that view of course presently includes the swooping and diving of swifts, swallows and martins.
Meanwhile in the garden we have a regular mob of sparrows who treat the place as their own, dust bathing, trawling the hedges and borders for seeds, doing a spot of aphid grazing on the hollyhocks. There are also blackbird fledglings who appear as soon as I go out to the vegetable patch. They are so hungry they’ve given up being afraid of me, and flutter around my feet as I’m digging, piping loudly for grubs and worms.
All of which is to say the local birds are presently providing a happy diversion from the mega-disruption in the Farrell roost. The building work goes on and on, but I think we’re over the biggest hump. More of which in the next post. For now a soothing view of a less common sort of bindweed – a perennial weed that in the large flowered version is usually plain white and mostly regarded by this gardener as a flipping nuisance.
Here in Bishops Castle the hedges, including ours, have been colonised by this pretty pink and white variety. In fact it’s the one asset in our hedge of horrors, and there’s a lesson here of course. Cue Monty Python’s Always look on the bright side of life and so never mind the hedge that thinks it’s a forest and can’t be tamed till August, or the house that’s full of building debris and occupied by two fuddled humans who no longer know where anything is.
Except for what must be a lot of bird poop this would be a fun thing to have around. The pretty flowering bind weed is pretty but yes it does bind.
The bindweed does indeed bind! 🙂
love this shot!
Thanks, Beth.
You seem to live in a veritable bird sanctuary. Yes, we can do jackdaws too, but are just beyond the edge – frustratingly, only by a mile or two – of red kite country. Swifts, once a regualr summer delight here abandoned us last year, and it’s hard to know why as suitable nesting sites are here, as there have always been. Lack of insects perhaps. I can’t envy you your bindweed, even though you have the pinkish one rather than the white strangling thug, which is ours. I hope the end is nigh-ish with your renovation programme?
Building-wise – basic structure is almost done, but quite a way to go on the internal re-arrangements; a few more weeks certainly.
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a wonderful sight Tish – some of those roosts are hundreds of years old, used by generation after generation
That’s a fabulous (in its fullest sense) thought, the roosts through time.
If you are interested Tish can recommend “Crow Country” by Mark Cocker – “…a prose poem in a long tradition of English pastoral writing.”
Thanks for that, Laura. I have a lot of time for corvids.
Thank you for your wonderfully descriptive comments – and for keeping positive during your home renovation. I am facing bathroom renovation (sometime, we think, before Christmas) with complete dread. Maybe I will look to the sky for a diversion.
Looking to the sky, yes, there’s very much to be said for it. Not least, I recently heard it said on an anxiety webinar that physically widening the gaze can reduce the fear generated when our minds get too focused/fixated on something.
It looks like nature is calling out to you. We have small chirping birds that serenade us in the morning and large wild turkeys that get into mischief all day until they roost for the night. I’d imagine Bishop’s Castle is an idyllic place to live.
Those wild turkeys sound quite something, Anne. And yes, Bishop’s Castle does have some beguiling energy all its own. I’ve learned the locals call it The Castle, which is intriguing inasmuch as there as little left of the actual castle. Though you could venture that most of it got recycled into the building of the town.
The recycling of old castle stones gives the town a significant type of energy! How wonderful.
As ever, you put your finger right on it. I think you’re right 🙂
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A lovely post….You have landed in a wonderful place:)
Thanks, Janet. I think we have made a good landing.
Similar skies here, without the red kites. And a lack of buzzards this year too. We used to regularly see the kites over Ludlow. Such magnificent birds. The pink bindweed reminds me of the field bindweed, but that usually is found at ground level, which I take it yours isn’t?
Just found your comment in spam, Jude. About the bindweed, yes it looks like the field bindweed, but it has big flowers and behaves just like the white bindweed. Perhaps not quite so virulent. I’m quite like it all in all.
This morning I was out with the dog and spotted a roadrunner. You don’t see them often, because they tend to be loners or couples. I saw only one today but I love to see them.
It does give the spirits a real lift when you have a sighting like that. For me, it’s seeing a hare.
Bird busyness indeed! The sky is full in the main image. Don’t envy the perishing bindweed , and hope your abode isn’t too far off completion of homeliness
Thanks for those good wishes, home-wise, Sue. I shall do an update with pix shortly. There’s still a few weeks’ work to do though. And as for the bindweed, it’s interesting that our pink version doesn’t seem as thuggish as the white which has completely invaded a neighbour’s very tall hedge. I might even decide to welcome it 🙂
Nature is different from year to year, be it flowers or birds. This year there are few crows (thank goodness) and many dragonflies, all of which are blue, not green. Our flower garden is bursting at the seams, while last year it seemed poorly. Go figure! Your birds could be here this year but not the next.
That’s very fascinating, Jennie. Makes one realise: the natural world has its own agenda. Blue dragonflies sound truly wonderful.
Well said, and yes the blue ones are beautiful.
Wonderful you have so much birdlife, swallows and martins? Not this year in Norfolk.
I’m glad the birds are providing such a good distraction from the inevitable chaos of a major building project! I envy you the red kites – my sister gets loads (in West Berkshire) and I always love seeing them when we visit. But they are spreading and I’ve so far seen two in our Ealing suburb about an hour east of her, so I live in hope their numbers here will increase 🙂
The kites do seem to be spreading. They are so beautiful to watch – the seeming effortless glide-by.
Seeing birds in flight like this always fills me with peace…great photos thank you Tish
Thanks, Athena.
Lucky you having so many birds to watch. That’s something we miss up here in our apartment in the clouds, but we do still get our 2 lorikeets visit.
Well, the lorikeets must certainly brighten your day, Pauline. And clouds are good for some peaceful watching too. I do rather miss our wide open Wenlock cloudscapes. Here our views are over rooftops, but as you say, we’re lucky to have the birds to watch.
Had glorious sun rise this morning
Ah, now that really does start the day with a big boost 🙂