June 18 2002

I haven't given an update now for quite some time. The reasons are various; lack of time, lack of words and not least a lack of the frantic activity we had last year when a robin and a blackbird both decided to nest in the garage. This year they remained conventional and nested outside in the bushes where they cannot be seen. The new blackbirds are already out and flying around as though they owned the place. There seems to be at least two, maybe three and some times the parent birds and the young appear all together on the ground in the back garden. But it has to be said that the male parent is the dominant bird. He regularly runs the younger birds out of the garden and puts on a great display of dropped wings and raised tail, making many short runs here and there aroun the grass. I hope the cat from next door doesn't get one of them. A sparrow fell victim to the cat last week amid a terrible flurry of feathers. On the road to Mullingar last week we saw a Hawk. Newcastle Ray said it was probably a kestrel. He's probably right but I call them all Hawks. The one we saw was hovering over a spot where he probably saw something like a mouse or something else perhaps. All of a sudden he dropped to the ground like a stone. He must have got something because he didn't come up again. She stoops to conquer.