‘Bird sighting’
It just might be worth keeping your eyes peeled if you are walking in or near Upperton Vineyard over the next few days. After sixty years of never seeing one up here, I disturbed a goshawk attacking a pigeon near the upper gate into New Road, and then watched it fly off to the little wood in the middle of the top end. Almost prehistoric up close, and the ultimate ferocious hunter, goshawks are slowly returning to the region, but this is the first that I have seen in the parish. For identification, think huge dark sparrowhawk darting close to the ground, possibly going ‘kee kee kee’ as it goes (although they only do that in the breeding season, which this is.)
Interestingly, this brings to nine my list of raptor species seen in the parish, which is around seven more than when I went bird-watching as a boy!
RMG