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Unseen

Saturday's Times had an interesting article by Simon Barnes about the demise of the lapwing. On reading it I was struck by the memory of a large flock in fields near the M25 when I was still commuting from Essex to Berkshire about 14 years ago. The sight of a flock taking flight, looking as if dozens of chess boards had been ripped to pieces and flung into the air, seems such a normal thing that it is a shock to realise that I haven't seen more than a handful together for ages.

In the same issue Derwent May wrote that it is time to start hearing skylarks again. Checking back over old posts reveals that I heard one here in late February last year, but I haven't had a chance to take a decent country walks for some time this year. I really must get out more!
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