31 July 2021

As I was loading shopping into the car boot at Sainsbury’s in Halifax on Wednesday morning, I glanced up and was surprised to see a peregrine falcon zooming back and forth, pestering the local gulls and feral pigeons. Paul Knights later tweeted a photo of one taken in Halifax a few weeks earlier. I hadn’t heard they had taken up residence.

We’re looking after Jen’s sister’s border collie, Mia, this week. As I took her out to play in the garden this evening, I heard a communal twittering, and, seconds later, about 30 long-tailed tits breezed through the garden in that just-passing-through way they do.

It’s the random wildlife encounters as you go about your daily life that seem the most special, as far as I’m concerned.

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