Home thoughts

I had a pile of things to do today but it turned out that the thing I really had to do was get some sleep: I'll get up in a minute I told myself at seven and suddenly it was quarter past twelve.

I'd refilled the seed feeders in the back and the spadgers were doing their best to empty them just as quickly. Just lately I'm just seeing the one goldfinch and one coal tit on the feeders, the blue tits and great tits come in as pairs. I've not seen the dunnocks for yonks, I'm not often down at the bottom of the garden where they generally lurk amongst the ivy and geraniums. On the other hand the robin is asserting its territorial rights with increased urgency, making sure none of the young birds try to take over.

It was evening when I came back from hospital visiting. Dozens of lesser black-backs flew East over the Trafford Centre, presumably heading for the roost in Salford Quays. Lesser black-backs are the Summer large gull round these parts though I've noticed an increase in herring gulls over the years. This Summer there seems to be more lesser black-backs than ever, they seem to have had a good season in Trafford Park. Traffic was delayed a bit while a gaggle of Canada geese occupied one of the yellow boxes on the road, unsure whether to graze the verges or the roundabout.

Walking home through Lostock Park it was very quiet. In May or June the songbirds would have been gearing up for a twilight chorus, in August a woodpigeons sang from the top of the poplars and magpies rattled, as much in protest at the racket a squirrel was making as the cat that provoked it.

A Stretford sunset.

As I got home a lone parakeet made a racket as it flew overhead to roost somewhere or other in the Mersey Valley. I wouldn't have imagined ever writing that five years ago.