I was back in Dingwall for a day, to pick up some things from my mother's house and also - and more importantly - to see some of the birdlife up there.
For years my mother's house was a no-go area for birds as for 15 years she had a massive black cat called Linford, who prowled on all wildlife in the vicinity. He killed anything that came near him, including an entire bird's nest with eggs, and a rare species that I can't actually mention for fear of getting in trouble with the RSPB.
But he's gone now leaving my mother with just a single cat - a weak and timid female who poses no threat to visiting birds, and my mother now enjoys feeding the birds and watching them skip, hop and jump in her garden. It also gives me the chance to see "what's goin' down in Dingwall!"
Well, plenty of blackbirds, common birds, puffing billbirds and sparrows as you would imagine, but I also got a terrific sighting of a Lady Jane Warbler, better known in countryside circles as a hedge warbler (but try telling Lewy that). Last year all that would have remained would have been its blood-soaked feathers as its body digested in Linford's stomach, but this year it was free to chirrup its famous singsong. Thank God for my mother's cat dying!
I'm back in Aberdeen and happened to meet Lewy last night, along with his French bird. I tell you, Lewy better keep an eye on his French bird because like all birds I've got my keen eye on her. Oh yeah! |
