It seems the Red Backed Shrikes are rare. In fact they're extremely rare. News of their arrival has spread rapidly on the twitcher grapevine .Saturday sees a steady stream of sensibly dressed visitors traipsing past the courtyard hoping to catch a glimpse of them. I'd reckon there must have been the better part of fifty of these earnest folk passing us during the day. Puppy and her elder sisters are delighted to see so many new faces. The visitors inform us that a) the Shrike has the most beautiful song of all British birds and b) that it's the smallest of all the raptors being little larger than a sparrow. One lives and learns.
This morning its already 17 degrees when we head off in the car to the town beach. Apart from seven surfers and a lady in a wet suit doing yoga we have the place to ourselves.
After our walk we detour to the cafe in town. As we arrive a lady sits down at an outside table with a pot of tea and a muffin. As she lifts the muffin to her lips a seagull swoops down and carries it off.
The lady stands, shakes her first and lets fly with some choice language. The young woman behind the cafe counter comes out with a replacement muffin. A small but kindly gesture. The seagull looks mightily pleased with himself. He noisily deals with any other muffin loving gulls. It has to be said that the seagull stole the muffin with remarkable dexterity. I have seen the gulls steal peoples fish suppers but this is the first time I've seen one rob a cafe in full daylight.
Earlier in the week we saw a truck with a slogan painted on the side ' Brilliant in circularity management '. What is that supposed to mean ? This morning there's a van parked blocking the pavement by the museum. The company does ' Specialist Enabling Works '. We are left none the wiser. Is growing linguistic incomprehension an age thing ?
Many of the old houses in the medieval heart of town have been turned into Airbnb's. Departing guests deposit their rubbish at the front doors without ensuring the bin bags are sealed and 'gull proof '. Within minutes the seagulls and crows the do a good job of 'unpacking' the bin bags in search of goodies.
Lots of Italians here this morning. The six am tour of the day from Edinburgh deposits them by the lavatories on the sea front. Their tour guide seems to have found something interesting to say about the nondescript university administration buildings. That must be a first.
7 comments:
I had a croissant in Arles yesterday morning that was a 10 out of 10, crispy ends would have been consumed with great joy.
Those gulls are so cheeky. Successfully adapting to life alongside humans in urban environments might be one reason why, unlike the red caked shrikes, they are not rare!
Cheers, Gail.
Looked up circularity management - brilliant in intent. Here is one example focused on organics and plastics: Our circularity centers convert plastic waste into the building blocks for new materials and organic waste into renewable natural gas. Both methods serve as valuable ways to create a world without waste.
Wonderful description of the muffin heist. Such a close encounter with a sea gull bent on mischief is not for the faint hearted.
We have pesky seagulls here too, and pigeons. They delight in stealing the food I put out for the feral cats that visit the garden. Much to Paca's frustration she can't quite catch them - she almost reaches them and suddenly they aren't there any more! She hasn't worked out that they take off horizontally and fly away.
Such aggressive gulls! And a beautiful beach photo :)
Unusual May heat advisory here. 97F at 1:30 pm. Not looking forward to "active " hurricane season starting June 1st.
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