Winter Wagtail - Cameos of Birdlife #1
It’s late afternoon on a cold grey winters day just after Christmas. The high mountains lost in snow-heavy skies; distant woods a purple haze. The New Year beckons.
Coming off the flyover onto the slip road to my local superstore I hear them first - their ‘ chiss- ick ‘ calls giving the game away. A few hundred gathered in noisy and excitable groups on the store roof. One or two already flying down to roost among the Christmas lights ...
lights twinkle
in cherry trees
wagtails roost
This year people seem to be more aware of these urban roosts with recent reports from as far afield as York, Bridgend and Dublin. Maybe you have some near you ...
Credits
The header image is from an original painting - Pied Wagtails settling in to roost at The Triangle Teignmouth Devon by John Walters - and is used here with permission.
John draws and paints wildlife directly from life in the field as he feels this is the only way he can capture the life and vitality of his subjects. He is a keen photographer and specialises in taking photographs of insects. He is after all best known as an entomologist.
He has written and illustrated several publications, including: The Wildlife of Dartmoor, The Minibeast Guide and The Rockpool Guide
Here is a link to his website John Walters
The recording in this post is used here under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license. This and many more can be found at - Xeno-Canto
Note
The bird's “Chis-wick!” call, often made in flight, has earned the Pied Wagtail another name, courtesy of Bill Oddie: “the Chiswick flyover”.
A ‘cracking’ little verse, Clive! And thanks for the introduction to John Walters!
Have a happy healthy and wonder-filled new year!
The same to you Ashley – a happy, healthy and wonderful 2021. Glad you liked the verse. Ed has already transplanted it to his Hokku Garden!
Thanks for sharing this artist! His wagtails are so lively!
He’s really nailed it hasn’t he. Best Wishes for the New Year.
I’ve not found a roost, but we do get a few pied wagtails in the local park and in the town centre, and the occasional grey wagtail in the dene.
Pied Wagtail are one of the few birds that seem to hang out wherever we hang out – so yes parks and gardens as well as shopping centres and railway stations.
[…] This twinkling hokku was composed by Clive Bennett, and can be found here. […]
You’re doing a great job in the ‘Garden’ transplanting my haiku. Thank you.
Wonderful, I always used to see wagtails in our school car park, slightly quieter than the playground I guess. This was in West London and from a bird point of view not far from the Chiswick fly over. Greetings to you for 2021 and thanks for all your wonderful haiku and illuminating posts.
Best Wishes for 2021. And yes Wagtails can almost always be seen around school yards, and car parks as well as the sports fields. Thanks for liking my haiku throughout the year.
How timely! I just shared on FB some pictures of wagtails with their friends the goldfinches that are all over our common at the moment, boldly walking between horses legs to get at whatever they are feeding on. Love them, they are so full of animation and personality.
They are lovely birds – so full of bounce and life. Never still for a moment. Best Wishes for 2021 Helen.