Category Archives: Short Stories

The great spotted woodpecker,which I heard when visiting Cotswold Wildlife Park, while I was watching the wolverines.

Let’s hope the Wolverine does not get the Woodpecker!

On this morning’s dog walk heard the Greenfinch and the Skylark

Just totalled up the different species and I’ve heard 28 different species of bird,all of whom are unendangered and are regularly found in the South of the United Kingdom.

This explains the rich bird song I’m hearing…..

There was a Mallard Duck,quacking at 4.00pm in the afternoon,when we visited Blenheim Palace for a Dog Walk. It was a fair distance away in the man made lake.

Otherwise ,there really wasn’t much, bird song, it was I suppose quite late and it was getting cold.

The birds were getting ready for bed….

In the quaint town of Pennywise, nestled between rolling hills and sparkling streams, there lived a wise old owl named Oliver. Oliver was no ordinary owl; he was renowned throughout the area for his amazing ability to manage resources, which made him the most sought-after budget planner in Pennywise. Oliver’s approach to budget planning was […]

A Approach to Budget Planning: A Story

I’m on my allotment

This little fellow is singing along watching me dig for he knows there is a feast of worms.

This morning ,I walked up the stairs to our main bedroom where my partner was lying and out of the kindness of my heart asked him.

“Do you want me to bring you up a cup of tea?”

He replied sleepily.

“That would be nice.”

Unwittingly,I turned around and placed my hand on the top of the bannister at the top of the stairs.My hands were slightly damp as I hadn’t properly dried them after going to the bathroom. So my hand slipped as I pirouetted to go downstairs.

I often wonder what it would be like to fall down our steep stairway.My feet missed the stop step, and my shoulder hit the wall.Fortunately with my free hand, I caught myself.However,in those fleeting moments,I caught sight of the stairs and the drop and thought, am I going to die?

I didn’t, and my partner got his tea.

THE END.

Another February bird I heard ….collared dove.

I heard a siskin this morning ,very exciting,part of the finch family,it was accompanied   by  Great Tits,Robins and Crows.

I heard two new ones this morning….

The Marsh Tit

The Coal Tit

I’m using the  Cornell Lab’s Merlin App to listen and record the birds I am hearing locally,mainly on my dog walks.

I’ve been impressed by the cacophony of sound I  hear ,and I thought it would be nice to know what is making it.

The process is very simple ,press record on the app.The app will record the birds singing and  also identify the songbird.It also identifies the location and makes a list of my recordings so I can look back and see the pattern of where these birds are and maybe give an indication of their prevalence.

So far ,for February 2024,I have heard the following. I have, for my own enjoyment, tried to find a phototo  to match the sound from the public domain photos.Forgive me if it’s the wrong bird,but even in winter, there is such a variety and it is so beautiful listening to their songs.My ear is tuning in more and more.

House Sparrow

A Robin

A Goldfinch

A Great Tit

A Magpie

A wren

Green Woodpecker

Black Headed Gull

Blue Tit

Jackdaw

Chiff Chaff

Starling

Rook

Chaffinch

Goldcrest

Long Tailed Tit

Blackcap

Songthrush

Reed Bunting

Dunnock

Redwing

Wood-Pigeon