Some of my rellies are birdwatchers. I cannot claim to be a birdwatcher, as I rarely see anything that I recognise, other than oystercatchers and magpies. Oh, and I recognise a curlew, if it's not a dotteril, and can clock a heron at twenty metres. But I do think I'm turning into a bird-listener, or a bird-hearer, especially this wonderful spring.
The road in the picture runs along the shores of the Kyles of Bute. We started at Colintraive pier and walked for an hour before we turned back, and all the time we were surrounded by the most fantastic chorus of birdsong. But clear through it all we could hear a cuckoo on Bute, its call carrying over the glassy water, and on our way back a woodpecker was making the most incredible noise in the woods (in the middle distance in the pic) - a seven-beat roll, to my mind.
So there you are. I may be as blind as a bat but I have good hearing. A birdlistener, me.
And now you have added but one more item into your bag of "riches"....
ReplyDeleteI have also been more keenly aware of the birdsongs in the Bristolwood this spring....sometimes the chorus of voices is overwhelming...but so heavenly!!!!
While posting the photos of the Indigo Bunting on my blog a few days ago, I searched online for Indigo Buntings, as I was curious about them. I ran into a site that actually has the sounds of various birds. What a treasure this is!
I think you probably mean a Whimbrel rather than a Dotterel. We have seen several W's on the Ayrshire coast this year.....hope to see a D. on our trip to the Cairngorm region in June.
ReplyDeleteActually I think I was thinking of a bar-tailed godwit. Hmm.
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