Saturday 21 November 2020

Saturday

 How I love rooks - they may not be pretty to look at individually but no other bird can beat them en masse.    As I lie on my bed this afternoon in the computer room, where I am sleeping at the moment, the sky is blue, the sun is shining and across the field behind my house is my favourite ash tree.   As I wait for my afternoon nap to overtake me (it does  so quickly every day as I get very tired) suddenly the tree, devoid of leaves this time of year of course, erupts and hundreds of rooks burst upwards like so many leaves in the wind.   I wish I could hear the noise they are making.   It reminded me of one the holidays the farmer and I took in the US when, on entering the hotel in the early evening, the trees surrounding us were absolutely full of very noisy birds.   I have a feeling they were called something like Grackles - can anyone enlighten me?

The other news story of today is that I have got mice!   My carer has found that they seem to have taken up residence under the sink in the kitchen.   My son is sending for two traps today and we must start an onslaught.

In other news I ache in places where I didn't know I had places to ache, presumably from doing my exercises religiously but 'no pain no gain'.

29 comments:

Karla said...

Oh my, mice! Where there's one, there's a bunch!! I pray they are relocated quickly. The birds you saw may have been Grackles, noisy dark-colored birds a bit smaller than a crow with odd, light-colored eyes. Or they could have been Starlings. Starlings have wonderful speckles on their breasts and are about the size of a Robin. Good Lord, during migration south, the starlings swamp our feeders and are the most raucous things! I adore them, and their wonderful colors! A Starling murmuration is a sight that all should see!

Camille said...

We have huge gatherings of crows here in New England this time of year. They gather in groups of several hundred or more at sunset as they search together for an overnight roost. The noise can be deafening and last up to 30 minutes as they jockey for a position in the trees. My husband and I look forward to these yearly noisy visitors and frequently go out in the yard with our sunset cocktails in hand and raise a toast to the crazy birds. I wish you could hear them from inside your home as it sounds like you enjoy the show too. Hoping you'll soon be back up and about and more comfortable. All the best to you Pat. X

gmv said...

I think your rooks are our crows here in the U.S. Every morning and evening here where we live they fly past in mass making a noisy racket. We have no idea where they come from and where they go. When it is windy they playfully sail around in the sky.

JayCee said...

What a mesmerising sight, to watch those flocks of rooks swooping and swirling in a huge, black cloud. It is something we have loved to witness eacu winter as they all gather together before roosting in the trees behind us.
I hope that you can persuade your mice to take up residence elsewhere.

Barbara Anne said...

There were Grackles when we lived in norther Illinois when I was a teen and what I remember most about them was the noise they made when en mass. You nearly could not hear yourself think.

Here in Virginia, we had smaller black birds that gather by the hundreds (or so it seems) and leap-frog from front yard to front yard in our neighborhood where there are a lot of trees. They are much more quiet than the Grackles were.

Well done in keeping up with your exercises and good luck in getting rid of the mice.

Hugs!

Midmarsh John said...

Our local Rooks make their presence heard every morning and evening when they leave or return to their rookeries. Intelligent too. A few years ago I filmed one as it worked out how to unhook a feeder and drop it on the floor to make it easier to get at the food.

Share my Garden said...

Well you certainly had Bogland concerned, Weaver, and now you are home and enjoying blue sky and whirling birds - what a great attitude! I'm glad that you are so pleased with your treatment, Leyburn is not the most accessible place to travel from to any of the hospitals, as I recall when my father was having treatment. Sending you my best wishes for a steady recovery.

it's me said...

Painting a lovely picture of birds and sky. So glad you have a view.Grackles do have that behavior. My resident crows watch me through the day and are always there to check through whatever I’ve put on the compost pile.

justjill said...

Well done for exercising keep going and it will stop hurting. Remember to breathe!

Bonnie said...

How wonderful to lie in bed and see the rooks fly up and away like that! Here in the U.S. you may have seen grackles or crows as both will fly in great groups making a lot of noise. Where I live we have groups of geese fly over frequently honking as they go.

I'm sure you must fight with all kinds of pain from your injury and surgery, from lying in bed and from your exercises. But one thing I do know and that is that you are a wise and determined fighter and you will get better a little each day! You also have a lot of friends here in blogland standing behind you and we all care!

Pattii said...

I felt that I was looking out of your window with you; such a beautiful description of what sounds like an idyllic landscape. I live in suburban Brisbane Australia and as I look out of my living room window at 10 am Sunday, I see our tiny backyard and 6 foot high identical wooden paling fences on 3 sides. But the sky today is brilliant blue and perfectly clear, and above the fence to my left I can see the tops of the huge eucalyptus and paperbark trees which border a small nature reserve nearby. I can also see the pawpaw tree in my garden, the cape gooseberry bush and the young mulberry tree. Isn't nature wonderful😀. Our bird life consists of crows, magpies, peewees; willy wagtails, ibis and the occasional kookaburra. I hope you are feeling better each day ☺️

Joanne Noragon said...

Whether you had starlings, grackles or crows depends on where you vacationed. Crows are the biggest and most handsome of the lot.

Susan said...

How lovely the flocking birds have chosen your tree to gather and chatter on a sunny blue sky day. Our crows and ducks are flocking as well. Pain from an injury and surgery as well as the required exercises can be hard. You are a very strong woman and will conquer this, I have no doubt. Each day, you will feel better. My thoughts are with you.

angryparsnip said...

Trees, Birds and Mice, Fall is here winter is waiting.
Happy your home to enjoy the sunny day.

RunNRose said...

I am so glad to see that you are feeling up to posting again, I do hope the pain lessens every day, You are so steadfast in facing whatever dilemma comes your way. A lesson for all of us!

I have a fantastic video made with my phone a couple of years ago in a local grocery store car park, Huge flocks of grackles migrate through here every fall. Where the store is located used to be woods. There were several trees planted there, scattered about. Not nearly enough trees to accommodate the birds!! The roof of the store and the entire parking area was filled with birds. Extremely raucous chattering. If you could persuade them to move over and let you park, you needed an umbrella to get from car to store. The pharmacist there was not happy about her car's being coated with white yuck when she got off work.

Poor birds. Fewer and fewer accommodations for them as we continue to pave the world. The store was forced to get rid of all the trees in order to keep their customers. I'm glad you still have your rooks to lift your spirits.

Thank you for all the effort it must take for you to post, You are a real treasure.

Penny said...

I do hope you manage to get rid of the mice. I realize a cat is not for you but that is why I always have one, even on the farm the fact there was an inside cat made a great deterrent. Keep up the exercises.

Cro Magnon said...

This is the time of year when Mice are looking for somewhere warm to spend Winter. My own visitor was soon dispatched, my son has one in England (he's dealing with it), and my son here has had a couple. The good thing is, they're usually alone or in pairs. One very rarely has an infestation!

thelma said...

Must be a lovely sight seeing the birds. As for mice, I am always happy to see them outside for the owls that fill the night with their call. Take care, we are all behind you wishing you well.

Sue in Suffolk said...

It is just SO good to have you back.
And Its good you have a lovely view as you drop off to sleep.

As for the mice - they always love the cupboard under the sink and I hope the traps soon work

Frances said...

I wish you luck with getting rid of the mice. Some years ago we were getting rats under the sink, and they were obviously creeping round the back of the units and climbing into the drawers ( chewing on my mucky oven glove and eating bar soap etc.). Poison was put down for ages and we did find one dead one but they only properly disappeared after my husband took the kitchen apart and found a tiny hole in the skirting behind the sink area and filled it in!!
I hope that your aches and pains will subside soon as you feel more yourself. It is good to have you back blogging.

walking in beauty carmarthenshire said...

Hello Weaver, Glad you are back. The birds in the US could even have been sparrows. I find in Arizona we could tell the time in the evening ,by the swarms of birds, sparrows returning to their roost. The sound was deafening. Sparrows were introduced out there, by a Londoner who was homesick for the sound.
Keep up the exercise s, you will be rewarded. I had a knee replacement a few yeas ago, at 77 years and I am back climbing ladders and the only thing I cant do is kneel on my repaired knee. My husband used to work un orthopaedics and kept nagging me .....'move it'
Enjoy the sin.
Kathy xxx

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks for the information Kathy.
Thanks to you all for the encouragement.
Mouse traps coming from Amazon today!

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

"Grackle" used to be the old name for Starlings in some parts of England, so I guess early settlers in the USA applied the name to the nearest equivalent, before Starlings were introduced there, allegedly by someone who wanted to have all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare in the USA. "Grockle" is still used colloquially in Devon to refer to tourists - noisy visitors who make a mess and then depart. I agree with your fondness for rooks, wonderful birds, though an owl might be more useful to get rid of mice!

Tracy said...

Grackle is a wonderful word! I had never heard it before. I guess it is true that every day is a schoolday!

Tom Stephenson said...

I love rooks and crows too. A lot of people are prejudiced against them. The group name 'Corvid' doesn't help much these days either.

jinxxxygirl said...

Grackles! Yes Grackles... Oh Pat the males are just lovely... Alot of people don't like them here in the US as they are large, loud, can be agressive toward other birds but like you i love them... They make such an unique sound... and the males look like they have oil on their feathers so if you look close they are rainbow hued... Take care dear Pat... Hugs! deb

Ellen D. said...

How nice that you are resting and relaxing while enjoying the nature out your windows and views of your garden! That will help with your recovery for sure. The exercises are so important and I am glad to hear your are determined to keep them up! Percy is waiting for you to get back on your feet. Well done! Stay safe, Pat!

susie @ persimmon moon cottage said...

Grackles around here gather in the trees, and during certain times of day like to gather in smaller flocks and graze on the lawns. They chatter and make grackle sounds all the while they search the lawns for goodies. They also inundate our neighbor's feeder until the squirrels and blue jays scare them off. My mom used to call them starlings, but I think I am going to google it and see what the difference is, as Mom was almost never wrong about plants and wildlife.

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