6 April 2021

A walk around the lanes on a crisp, clear, bright afternoon. As we headed along the farm track, I glanced up and spotted a buzzard hovering in the updraft above Little Moor. Buzzards have always been rare around here, in sheep country, but seem to have become a bit more common in recent years. I then spotted a second buzzard off to my left. The first soared down to join it while a kestrel hovered low near the ruined farmhouse, and a curlew burbled somewhere nearby.

Buzzard
Buzzard

A strong side-light, with dark, dramatic skies over the Moor. Then a hail shower scudding down the Hebden Valley far below. Within a minute, the shower spread, heading up the hillside towards us. The second half of our sunny stroll instantly turned into a stomp through a blizzard.

Hail shower heading down the Hebden Valley.
Hail shower heading down the Hebden Valley.

Richard Carter’s newsletters

Subscribe to receive two free newsletters:

RICH TEXT: My personal newsletter about science, history and nature writing.

DARWIN NEWSLETTER: Celebrating the grandeur in Darwin’s view of life.


Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *