
So, carpe diem, seize the day. Seize the sunrise, a moment of glory. The town below lies in darkness but wildlife is wakeful. Jackdaws take wing at first light.
At dusk, flocks of rooks and jackdaws fly to seek our their roost for the night. So what is the term for the rising of corvids to greet the dawn?
Up on Scout Scar the day was mild and still. I met someone who had lived here all his life, who used to come here with his uncle who walked daily on Scout Scar. He told of a field of lapwing where now there are none- I've heard this from another local. Where are the skylark he remembered, he asks? Well, there are some half a dozen pairs but he remembers something richer. And the buzzard which raised a family close by was silent this summer. He was looking for mushrooms which he used to pick to eat. There was a particular spot he'd always find them.
I hear mistle thrush calling and goldfinch. No sign of fieldfare or redwing - the weather is mild and there's time. But when I wrote About Scour Scar I record an abundance of them and there hasn't been a winter like that for several years.
After comers cannot guess the beauty been Binsey Poplars Gerard Manley Hopkins
So carpe diem.