I’ve just been watching a fledgling collared dove. She or he was perched on our neighbour’s guttering, pondering, observing and then preening. They all gather, mostly due to the fact that the next neighbour along keeps up an endless supply of fat balls and seeds. There are five containers full at present. So they all come. There are the rooks, the blackbirds, a whole host of sparrows, the doves and yesterday there were three baby jays. It gave me such a fillip of joy. They were fluffy, ungainly things but those tell-tale lozenges of blue on their wings were there nevertheless. I can catch them from my studio window, if I stand up and look down, that is. I love to see them, as does he. Small things. And now I must write…..
