Chilling out after the paper run this morning, with a cup of coffee and a couple of slices of cinnamon raisin toast with extra butter*, I noticed the swallow family, supplemented by a spotted flycatcher and a pied wagtail, arranged on the telephone wires. Just as I was wondering what tune they would play if they were to be transcribed onto sheet music, they all disappeared in a flash. A sparrowhawk had flown over and was immediately surrounded by twittering maddened birds. A few seconds later and it had been seen off. Swallows one, sparrowhawk nil. Or was it? Because when they first emerged a couple of days ago, there were definitely six little swallows disporting themselves on the wires. And now there are only five…
*You know, I’m doing all this exercise and yet I’m piling on the pounds. Just can’t work out why that should be…
June 23, 2008 at 1:31 pm |
It’s when you’re having butter with a little bit of cinnamon raisin toast to taste that you need to worry
I’m going to put my money on the sparrowhawk for the long haul. Go sparrowhawk, go
June 23, 2008 at 1:42 pm |
You’re probably right. It’s already been back for another go since posting this
June 23, 2008 at 1:46 pm |
that was since I posted this, not the sparrowhawk…