Monday 25 May 2015

Urbanising?

My impending retirement and the still more impending visit of the New Zealand branch of the clan have combined to create a veritable Perfect Storm of busyness - and I fear it's not over yet. However, while shopping the other day, I was cheered to spot my first urban Grey Wagtail. This beautifully coloured, most unfairly named bird is close kin to the Pied Wagtail - which, as I've noted before, is now very much an urban bird. The Grey is a little larger and more elegant, longer in the tail and even more active, especially in the tail-wagging department. I often see Greys in their natural habitat beside the now clear and free-flowing Wandle - but this one was down a little alley beside a high-street shop, seemingly quite at home, fossiking around to see if there was anything worth eating. I wonder if this was a one-off, or an early sign that the Grey, like the Pied, is moving into town. It would certainly add a welcome touch of lively beauty to the urban landscape.

3 comments:

  1. One or two turn up every year in our town but no sign of serious gentrification.

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  2. Not bad going, is it, for a bird that I seem to remember scored quite high in the I-Spy book...

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  3. The Yellow wagtails are seen not far from towns. Usually under the feet of cows.Guess they are the reason for calling these the grey.

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