I’ve been walking a lot in places that I haven’t really explored since childhood. In many ways they are very similar to how I remember them, and in others they have changed.
In particular I’ve noticed that the birds have changed. Years ago a sighting of a Red Kite or a Buzzard would have sent the twitchers running for their binoculars. Now a Buzzard sighting is pretty much an everyday occurrence and a Red Kite a fairly common visitor.
I’m sure that this is mostly down to the impressive reintroduction programmes for Red Kite and an overall reduction in persecution of the Buzzard. Although I’m sorry to say that raptor persecution generally is still a significant problem.
I’ve also seen and heard Ravens, which are as far as I remember are a relatively new species in the are. In my childhood they were preserved for The Tower of London and looked after by beefeaters. They were obviously more widespread than that even then, but now it seems more so.
Of course it could just be that my eyes and ears are more tuned these days to those things but maybe not.
I’m looking forward to spring with a certain anticipation of one particular species. It’s not one that you see very often but many will know its call. The Cuckoo. Cuckoos used to be very common here and it would be an unusual year (30 years ago) not to hear one during the springtime. However where the Buzzard and Red Kite have been the success stories I’m thinking that the Cuckoo might be the bird that bucks that trend. There has been a lot of effort to understand where Cuckoos migrate to and from with some satellite tagging, but it does seem that they are a bird in decline and that another year will pass where I don’t hear the call of a Cuckoo, something that I now probably haven’t heard in the wild for many, many years.
I’m also looking forward to the spring to start to be able to see what changes in vegetation there have been as well. Although some of it is visible at the time of the year, it will be much more obvious and easier to identify as the pathways start to green up and plants begin the new seasons growth.
For somewhere that I knew so well it’s great discovering it again.