Ornithological Observations

One swallow doth not a summer make, so the saying goes... and by the looks of things I'd say that's so. Technically, we are still in Winter's grip but, yesterday at a friends hockey game I noticed a lone swallow. Note, a LONE swallow, so no Summer for a while yet!

I walked out to Hornby on Saturday and passed a few factories, demolition yards, vacant lots and such, as you do out that way. Apart from the usual spadgies, blackbirds and starlings etc I was priviliged to see: a Dunnock fosicking in the undergrowth, a couple of Chaffinches and I almost stepped on a little flock of Goldfinches (I don't think they expected me to be there). Finally, I saw the largest flock of Redpolls I've ever seen (I only saw them definitely on one other occasion) about a dozen there were, but only for a few seconds before they flitted off in a single wave.