Ivy, honey, holly!

 

Ivy, honey, holly! 



Will it be a White Christmas? Or pouring rain, dull grey sky? No visual buzz from the last two, BUT... go outside for a few minutes... listen... tiny squeaks back and forth... a family of blue tits flitting amongst twigs


, or maybe a flock of Long-tailed Tits, or a robin’s quiet murmuring out of sight in the bushes

– subsong, practice, rehearsal or ‘whisper song’...A joyous sound of life! Look up and there could be a Buzzard floating on the air, blunt wings stretched out wide. Or maybe, an occasional, more recent sky acrobat, a Red Kite. 

This bird’s flight control is phenomenal, a true arial display of manoeuvrability, turning wing angles and direction, twisting one side or both forks of the tail in a flash this way and that. An inspiration of freedom up in the sky!


And Kites are crucial in nature’s great ‘clean-up crew’, feeding on dead animals (e.g. roadkill) and general waste – historically valued to the point of being legally protected by Royal Charter in the Middle Ages (C15).


In those days all refuse was just thrown out of the windows into the street, pretty much as people chuck rubbish from their cars today... and Kites are cleaning up again –incorporating brightly coloured plastic bags, crisp packets, pieces of metal, paper and cloth into their nests. An index of our time?



 If the magic happens and it is the dream of ‘A White Christmas’ like traditional cards and the classic song... remember that birds need water to drink and bathe, so replace the ice with fresh water!


White, Wet or Grey



!HAPPY CHRISTMAS!



Picture credits: 2 Blue Tits - Jan Robertson, Bath Society of Botanical Artists; 1 – White Christmas Pheasant & Pied Wagtail, 3-7 Nicolette Scourse








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