“Wild? I was furious!” So said Gerald the gorilla in the Gryff Rees-Jones/Mel Smith TV sketch show “Not the 9 O’clock News”.

We thought a list of sightings would be fun.

15/11/16. Even before we moved here, we were so close to a Red Kite as to be disconcerting.  The mewing, which sounds like a shepherd calling from the great pasture in the sky, is eerie and echoes around the valley.  Joined occasionally by the mewing of the Buzzards – also spotted and more later.

They are fed a few miles away at Rhayeder and three of them soar over the garden, and the chickens, on thermals – a magnificent site, barely moving the tail to navigate precisely over the prey – usually, they say carrion; but not all farmers are in love with them, maybe they distrust the carrion bit.

21/11/16. Darrell Dipper.  So named after Dapper Darrell Dipper who sometimes inhabits Carter Marsh Clocks in Winchester, his natural territory.

Dodging and weaving, sometimes underwater and reappearing elsewhere, a showy wily bird immaculately dressed with his white bib and tucker.  Continuously looking for something special, and at the same time giving nothing away.  Walking the garden, one is suddenly listening subconsciously to a pretty little tune and quite loud; he has obviously just discovered a bargain.  He stands on a rock looking for small crustaceans under the water and then diving in and swimming to the next rock.  Magnificent bird, full of the joys of spring

01/12/16.  Tits!  and lots of them.  Coal, Great, Blue,

02/12/16. Shag..
… or Cormorant?  Too quick and too difficult to get a sighting.  Walking by the river and stood watching nothing as you do.  From left out of sight it took flight and passed me going upstream, appearing to land on a shallow beach bit.  Will have to work harder and decide which it was.

04/12/16. Red Breasted Merganser!  Wow!  This duck fishes underwater for … fish!

That was followed by Darryl Dipper and by several Wagtails. and by 7 or 8 Mallards.

04/12/16. Blackbirds including European migrants, and battling them for the berries are Fieldfares.  Really flash birds whose “karr, karr” alerts you to their presence.

09/12/16. At last!  We have been watchful for the Treecreeper, scanning the opposite bank of the Wye, and some of the larger trees surrounding us.  Something caught the eye today and there it was;

hopping up the trunk of the old plum tree in the veg patch, got to the top and started again at the bottom.  Apparently they often fly and feed with tits, and as we do them in spades, we ought to be more vigilant, and more auditory aware and listening for their pretty light little melody.

Today again, and yesterday we were visited by one of two young herons.  The metallic squark was the first to alert us, and then one of them circled the pond gradually descending until it landed.  We were some way away, but it seemed uncertain and watchful, and declined to stay, wheeling off with another angry shout at us for disturbing him.  One local resident, Fred Slater, has asked to inspect the pond in the spring, looking for otter traces.  Apparently, there is a breeding colony of toads nearby and for the otters it is a favourite food.  No doubt the Heron is also on the lookout and whilst the pond does not appear to have any resident fish, there must be other tasty morsels living in there.

16/12/16.  Mallards are roosting on the pond overnight.  No doubt because the river is running a little high, their normal anti-predator roost is unavailable, so they fly in at dusk and settle down.  This morning also saw a pair of Great Crested Grebe diving for fish and swimming underwater; so sleek. [Not confirmed, still puzzling on these two]

18/12/16. Kingfisher!  At last.  We’ve been vigilant for one (or more) since we came and today we saw one quartering our bank.  No news yet on the small fast wingbeat birds which dash for roost cover at night.

28/12/16. Pretty sure that they are Pintails.