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Bluebells

Yes its bluebell time again. The woods around here are full of them. It is also the time for suicidal baby rabbits. One sat in front of the car this evening, obviously trying to escape detection by staying perfectly still. I backed up for a couple of feet and it finally decided to move.

On the bird front I haven't seen a lot, mainly because I haven't had much time to spend looking. I discovered why there are no sparrows in my garden, they are all at the other end of the village where the older houses have real hedges rather than fences and conifers. My lilacs and crab apple at the back and rowan at the front are not sufficient compensation.

Travelling around during April I have seen a few birds of prey. On Good Friday there was a buzzard above the M25 at junction 23 and later in the month there was a red kite at Great Missenden and another near Thame. A trip on the south side of the M25 last weekend gave a puzzling glimpse. There was a large bird of prey near Clacket Lane Services. I didn't get a good look at the silhouette but the wingtips were not splayed as a buzzard's usually are and they seemed a bit more swept back that I would expect for a kite, I didn't get a good look at the tail. The location would make sense for the London peregrines but if I was twitching I would be dubious about what making it a tick.

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