Wednesday 10 June
So, first a correction to Day 81. It was a Song Thrush not a Blackbird. I couldn’t see the bird clearly, and although I was pretty sure it was a thrush I couldn’t be certain. That’s quite embarrassing. Maybe, my growing fondness for Blackbirds means I am becoming obsessed with them and think every bird is or should be, one.
I actually saw the Song Thrush this evening. Same tree, same lane, same time of day. Not far from our family favourite field (see video). They’re pretty territorial, like most birds, particularly in the nesting season. Like the Blackbird, they seek the highest vantage point at dusk and sing, loud and clear, through the calm, still air. And it’s beautiful.
These are often the last birds to retreat to their nests at the end of the day. Their large eyes enable them to ‘stay up’ much later than some of their smaller eye-balled compadres. They’re also some of the earliest risers for the same anatomical reason. The earliest bird catches, the worm. I guess the last to bed, sings the longest and delivers the encore.
It is pleasing to learn that the virus in the UK is receding. The daily figures of confirmed cases and deaths is, thankfully, dropping each week. The blot on this good news, however, is that the ‘R’ figure (the reproduction rate) is still somewhere between 0.7 and 0.9. If it is at 1.0 or higher it means that the virus is increasing. If that happens, lockdown restrictions will be reintroduced but maybe only in specific regions.
The government has introduced the idea that each household ‘bubble’ could link with a one-person household bubble. So, a single grandparent could spend time at their grandchild’s bubble. Confused? Try this…Zoos and drive-in cinemas can also reopen. Drive-in cinemas?! Really?! The PM is likely to announce tomorrow that the T-Birds bubble will be able to get together with the Pink Ladies bubble! Crazy times.
The Bald Birder 