Saturday 2nd July (Dawn: No Dawn Chorus)


Mr. Kite looked out of his bedroom window to see a Goldfinch sitting on the top of a conifer in next doors front garden. With the sun rising Mr. Kite could make out the colours on this attractive bird. Now The Dwelling was creaking under the weight of bottles and cans of beer  that had been consumed recently; so Mr. Kite packed them into bags and cycled to the local recycling point.

Being a bird-watcher on a bike Mr. Kite noticed a female Mallard sitting near the container for recycling bottles. Two things crossed Mr. Kite's mind; firstly how well camouflaged the female Mallard was against the chippings on the car park and why was she on her own?

Anyway Mr. Kite moved slowly near her because he did not want to disturb her. After Mr. Kite had put the bags of recycling on the ground Mrs. Mallard came over to watch Mr. Kite put empty cans of Tetley Bitter and Carlsberg lager into the container before he then put empty Leffe, Kronenbourg and Abbot Ale bottles into the glass recycling.

Mrs. Mallard was silent throughout this process although a Collared Dove watched and 'cooed' from a nearby lamp-post. When the carrier bags were empty Mrs. Mallard wandered to the middle of the car park and settled down for a snooze.

Now Mr. Kite was left wondering why a Mallard would come and watch someone put cans and bottles into the recycling?

Mr. Kite continued his bird-watching as he slowly cycled towards The Dwelling. Two common birds caught the attention of Mr. Kite: a Blackbird and a Wood Pigeon. Both these birds seemed to be collecting material to build nests. The Blackbird was collecting dried grass and the Wood Pigeon twigs. Mr. Kite hoped that these two birds had not left it too late in the season to rear a family of fledglings.

Today Mr. Kite is excited because it is the start of 'Le Tour de France'. Most years Mr. Kite can be found  sitting in a chair on the roadside watching the race and the surrounding birds. Mr. Kite has sat waiting for the riders watching Griffon Vultures, Egyptian Vultures, Short-toed Eagles, Booted Eagles and Golden Orioles. This year however Mr. Kite is going to perch on a chair and watch the race on television.

Mr. Kite likes reading. On a Saturday and Sunday Mr. Kite buys a broadsheet. Today Mr. Kite read an article by Simon Barnes that amongst other things mentioned the scarcity of House Sparrows in London. Now in March this year Mr. Kite read an article by Michael McCarthy, 'Why do sparrows thrive in America but not here?, based on some research by Denis Summers-Smith, the leading sparrow expert. As he was on his way to Hampstead Mr. Kite decided to find 'The Chirpy Cheeky Sparrer'. To cut a long story short Mr. Kite did not spot one House Sparrow in Hampstead during a four day stay.

Now Mr. Kite enjoyed reading this article: 'The Times; Saturday July 2nd 2011; page 24', because Mr. Kite has studied numbers for years and he is going to Hampstead in the morning.

Today was a busy day for Mr. Kite. Watching 'The Tour' from the comfort of an armchair was thirsty work. So Mr. Kite drank Kronenbourg, Abbots Ale and Leffe Brun. Cheers from that armchair.