16 Dec 2016

16th December 2016 Half a dozen kestrels in one day!

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Friday 16th 32-35F, +0-2C, overcast with cold easterly breeze. Walked up to the woods and back along the track. Only a solitary buzzard and a few Yellowhammers. Fixed tiny puncture which hardly bubbled but made the tire flat overnight. Rode to the shops into the cold easterly. Saw two buzzards, a male kestrel and a jay near the road. 17 miles.

Saturday 17th 34-39F, 1-4C, very heavy overcast but calm. 8.35am and it is still struggling to lighten. Walking with a torch? It wasn't that bad but still darkly depressing. There was hardly any wind so it didn't feel as cold as yesterday.

We ordered some Christmas presents from Amazon. They were at the sorting office only a few short miles away, several days ago. Then someone there decided it would be great fun to send both parcels to somewhere in the middle of Arctic Sweden! Now delivery is not expected until 23rd December after ordering on the 9th December. With a 3-4 days service at the best of times [but not at Christmas!] it will take another week before we finally receive them. What a total farce!

The cold breeze from the SW was steadily picking up as I headed NW. A bit tired on the way back, into the wind, due to a lack of proper sustenance. I saw six individual kestrels hovering today. Usually I don't see them very often at all. Perhaps they are more visible at this time of year? Or they are hungry due to their usual prey hibernating. It always looks as if they are working hard just to hover in place. That takes energy which has to be replaced. 22 miles.

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