Every evening as I walk the dogs round the paddock to stretch their legs after tea, and before we settle down to a cosy evening in front of the fire, we get to witness a wonderful display of birds settling down to roost for the night on the wires that run through the pylons behind our land.
They swoosh around, chattering and chunnering as they do, finding a spot that they are happy with before briefly it goes all quiet.
Then one more bird will land and virtually everyone takes off again disturbed by the late-comer and the whole process starts again.
You might not even be able to make him out...
... does a circle help ...
... but way down the wires high over the river one bird always sits totally by himself. Neither part of the flock on our pylon nor part of the smaller flock that sits on the wires at the pylon by the river.
I've christened him 'Little Billy No Mates'.
I wonder what his story is, is he waiting for a friend, for his partner in life ... or does he simply want no part of this settling, scattering and settling again that repeats itself over and over until darkness falls. He cuts a lonely image in a great big sky, but hopefully before they all depart for warmer climes he will join in with some friends and be part of the flock again.
Taking photos of the birds made me notice in more detail just how quickly the ferns are now dying off. The patch of brown on the hillside is getting bigger each day, soon there will be ground visible again where only a couple of weeks ago lush ferns filled the space.
We're out of British Summer Time this weekend, with our clocks going back by one hour on Saturday night/Sunday morning. The evenings will be long and dark, but hopefully cosy and relaxing. It's nice once all the jobs are done, the chickens are safely tucked up for the night and we can relax with the dogs and Ginger in the cosiness that is home.
Sue xx
Yes, I wonder about Billy no mates Sue. He/she must go to roost later than the others.
ReplyDeleteWe have an enormous rookery about a mile beyond our farm and the rooks go out at day break and back at dusk every day regular as clockwork crossing our house. I love them, particularly when it is windy and they fly low. I see the title of your blog 'New Life in the Country' - what could be better.
Oh, Little Billy no mate :-( wonder what his story is.
ReplyDeleteI remember watching Autumnwatch about the starling roost at Brighton West Pier. There's a complex social hierarchy in operation concerning where you can roost among the flock.
ReplyDeleteThe way starling swarm is quite amazing. They are like a black cloud the descends upon a tree, then as quickly as they land they're off ducking diving swirling around the sky looking for a place if rest.
ReplyDeletePoor little Billy. I hope he was just enjoying a bit of solitude. I hate to think of him being an outcast.
ReplyDeleteIt's as though he's waiting for someone and wants to make himself stand out. He's been on his own in the same place for over a week now.
DeleteOr of course it could be a completely different bird every night taking it's turn on sentry duty :-)
Love the new header. Our local Robins are singing so lovely at the moment.
ReplyDeletethanks for reminding me about the clock change! Enjoyed your post, as always. Lovely to visit again after time out from the blogging world, Love Helen, Darcy, Bingley & Fred xxxx
ReplyDeleteYou have made "home" sound so very inviting. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteOur clocks don't change until Nov. 1 which is nice for the kids going Halloweening! You often talk about your 'woods'. How far back do they go and will you be able to use that land for anything, other than the wood, of course, in the future? Hope Billy has found a friend by now. Most of our trees are bare now, lots of leaf racking being done. The beautiful fall colours have all gone for another year.
ReplyDelete