Tuesday 21st December (A Breezy December Dawn)


Mr. Kite looked out of his bedroom window into a blue and pink December dawn. The sun was just rising. Outside the natural world was preparing for the coming new year and then spring. The lime trees were bare; orange, red and black berries grew on the plants in the adjacent gardens. Pairs of wood pigeon were starting to court and in the garden robins and blackbirds were noisily marking their territory.

In the afternoon Mr. Kite took The Beast to Monkmoor Lagoon. As usual the hedgerows had great tits, dunnock and chaffinch with flocks of redwings and fieldfare enjoying the milder air. The most noticeable thing was the number of blackbirds that had congregated in the lane. At least ten blackbirds, mostly males, flew along the hedge dropping in here and popping in there. At the end one bright black male with an orange bill was bathing in some water.

When Mr. Kite returned the gathering of blackbirds were having a ceremony in the lane that included flying, chasing and teasing. Such a gathering of blackbirds is something that Mr. Kite has never seen before. Returning home Mr. Kite read about blackbirds and their behaviour whilst enjoying a tipple of Wychwood Hobgoblin. Cheers to those blackbirds.