Friday 5 March 2010

Lark Ascending.


'Going Home.' Yes that's right, Dvorak's 9th!







Oi, who you calling common?


I made along the wagon-way towards the Rising Sun Country Park today, not so much for some relaxing bird watching, but for yet another meeting. Meetings can be boring, very boring, but this one wasn’t as I’m pleased to say everyone there was enthusiastically involved with birds in one way or another. Still, on such a pleasant spring day I intended to do a little watching and I’m pleased to say I found my first Skylarks of the year on my outward walk. Mr (or was it Sir?) Vaughan Williams caught the atmosphere very well in his composition, Lark Ascending. I’m no expert on classical music, but that is definitely one I like. Here’s a good question for a quiz related to another bit of classical music I like. Name three birds represented in Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony?

I came across the singing Skylarks as I watched the Wood Pigeon flock in an attempt to find my first Stock Doves of the year. I did eventually pick a couple out. Then I was off to the Rising Sun where all seemed quiet apart from the usual Magpies and corvids.

Once the meeting was over I managed a walk around part of the country park and picked up my first Lesser Black Backed Gulls of the year. There was no sign of the Redpolls which had been recently reported. Most of the birds I came across in the trees and hedges were Goldfinch. The Pochard and Mute Swans were looking at their best on the small pool. Common, but very smart birds! The hedges in the park had been well and truly trimmed and the dipping pond has under gone a big re-vamp. This was a good pond for odonata in summer so I hope it soon settles. I made off for my return walk home as the sun and temperature both began to drop.

4 comments:

  1. Killy or is it Culture Birder, The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams is as much to Summer as the sound of the Willow Warbler and Kool and the Gang's Summer Madness. Bring 'em on, and fast, as this cold and/or wet and/or windy weather is doing my head in. And Williams' work is Britain's favourite classical music piece too.

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  2. Aye, I likes a bit a cultaa.
    Yes, been a long cold winter for sure.

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  3. Duck eating Swans what ever next ;-)

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  4. That duck was determined to be in the photo somehow or other.;-)

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