We have enjoyed a second awe-inspiring trip to Colombia, returning with so many wonderful memories: hummingbirds galore, magnificent mountain scenery, Bogota with its fantastic street art and Gold Museum and most remarkable of all incredible numbers of macaws and parrots all around us in the Amazonian jungles of Mitu. One day we were at 4,000 meters above sea level in the high Paramo with its beautiful vegetation and Andean Ducks, the next at sea level in intense heat and humidity alive with colourful birds all around us. All hummingbirds are beautiful and one of the more unusual ones is the Sword-billed Hummingbird. Just how it can fly with a bill that long is almost beyond belief, and as for the tongue, this can extend far beyond the end of the bill. Wonderful as all the birds were, it was the street art in the centre of Bogota that really gripped our imagination. There is, of course, the usual mindless graffiti everywhere to be seen, but the street art is what really adds a distinctive dimension to this city centre. Do log onto the village web site to see some photos of Bogota.
Back home our garden birds seem pleased to see us. The feeders have been refilled and they are crowding in for the food and my friendly little Robin is never far from my side. Biddy and John in Colestocks have been delighted to see a pair of Greenfinches in their garden. Nationally this bird is in decline, but seems to be faring well in Devon, especially here in Payhembury where it is a breeding species.
Then in early February we were off to Exmouth with Andrew and Cherry for a bird cruise along the River Exe. At first the birds were pretty thin on the ground, but matters greatly improved as we approached Topsham, where we saw hundreds of Golden Plover shimmering in the sunlight, good numbers of Avocets, the usual over-wintering Black-tailed and Bar-tailed Godwits and a handful of Curlews. I learnt something new – the bill on the female is much longer than the male, a distinct advantage I suspect when food is in short supply. In all, we saw 36 bird species, many in considerable numbers.
Then, by the end of the first week of February frogspawn appeared in the garden pond. This is the earliest we have seen it since we moved to Payhembury.
Paul Lister 841696