Bird talk

So I haven’t been out as much as I’d have liked, which is good because I’ve got loads of working and planning done and tried a gorgeous new mincemeat recipe that's a cross between a crumble, a mince pie and a flapjack. But on Tuesday, something magical happened, without us realising until we realised that the bird that we'd beenwatching, pretty much posing for pictures while he (or she) stuffed his beak with mealworms and suet pellets was actually something special. And here he is, so you can see what I mean about him posing.

This is a yearling snow bunting, so he's still quite young We usually get one or two sightings a year, so the twitchers were out in force the next day, and sadly saying that they were so often there the day before the sighting and the day after it, but miss the magic while we tried hard not to gloat. That’s life for you, isn’t it? But we were there to see this beautiful bird, who we think was stopping over at the Harbour for a breather after flying down from Scotland before he flies on. And we had his favourite food for him, because we find it's so much easier to feed a bird when he or she is being rewarded too.

We get a lot of these rare visitors in winter or when there have been storms, and I love the fact that what was once marshy inlets and then a landfill site is now a site of special scientific interest where birds are as welcome as humans. I love the way that the works to rebuild the sluice have brought worms to the surface, which means that the birds they were worrying about disturbing are thriving. One of the peregrine falcons has been seen perching on a crane when it’s not in use, and it was the tall one, so it must have given him a wonderful view. When I was a child, I knew an Australian who said philosophically, ‘Some days you’re the pigeon, other days you’re the lamp post.’ I can update that to read ‘some days you’re the peregrine falcon, other days you’re the pigeon.’ Obviously, I don’t like seeing the unwanted bits of dead birds, but knowing we have peregrines and kestrels and sea eagles and ospreys and buzzards and barn owls, all of whom are endangered, is amazing. More amazing still, they sometimes fly over the house. I remember how much we used to pay to take my daughter to the bird of prey centres that she loved, and now she sees them in the wild. How awesome is that?

Also pretty awesome is today’s ‘it could only happen in Poole.’ Actually, it happened just outside Bournemouth, which makes sense because our seagulls are so much nicer and better behaved. So click on this link, and smile… https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20p0lgyynxo

Read it? Good, because doesn't it leave you wondering why the seagull decided to steal a handbag? My daughter suggests he was after the chip and pin bank card rather than the more conventional stealing your chips. but we can't be sure because our seagulls in Poole don’t do anything like that. Why should they need to when there are oysters in the bay along with other fish and shellfish? When the fishermen bring them ashore, they put them in massive white bags to weigh and then sell. The seagulls then drop in and help themselves, or perch on the fishing boats and go for scraps, and there’s enough for everyone so yet again, everyone is welcome.

That’s why I love the Harbour and I can’t wait to go and see the Christmas lights that were turned on yesterday, and I’ll tell you more about that on Tuesday… Till then, remember that there is always good news as well as bad, and if you don’t look for happy endings, then you’ll never, ever find them. And have fun and maybe think of me putting my Christmas puddings on to boil because it’s Stir Up Sunday and I love tradition, and planning, and I’m proud to become a child at Christmas because growing up’s massively overrated, isn’t it?