Hi folks
Well, it’s been very Spring-like in recent days, hasn’t it? The birds are pairing up – blackbirds chasing each other round the garden, goldfinches fighting and the woodpecker drumming in the oaks. He has been at it for over two weeks now! The dunnocks (hedge sparrows) are singing away. Did you know that they are polygamous (I think that’s the word for having many husbands and wives!) I had a 
treat the other day – a bullfinch in the hedge by Cokesputt; a lovely bird which I used to see a lot when I was a boy, but very rarely these days. The fruit farmers don’t like them because they eat the young buds of fruit trees.
Walking along by the mead, I saw a lovely buzzard sitting in one of the willow trees by the stream – his chest was very pale, almost white. The sun was 
shining on him, so he stood out. Buzzards vary considerably in colour, from dark brown to almost white.
Colin tells me he heard birdsong in an Exeter garden, in the city centre. On further investigation, he established that it was a cuckoo, singing away. I must admit I haven’t seen a cuckoo (or heard one) in the UK for many years. 
Ray and Louise were walking along the prom in Sidmouth recently, after very rough seas, and a lot of stones had been washed up from the beach. Amongst the stones, there were a dozen or so small birds feeding. They were identified as little stints – a very good find!
Alan Jones 01404 841671
