A sure sign that Spring is on the way is the sighting of caravans on the A49. One Friday you will see one and then the next a convoy of two. A Kestrel hovering by the roadside may be seen all year round and they are common around Bunbury, as is the Sparrowhawk. Lots of people including myself have seen the latter in our gardens, easily identified because of their barred chest. We tend to associate other birds of prey (owls excluded) with remote areas, so it was good to hear of confirmed sightings of Buzzards and Peregrines when I was talking to Roger Morris the other day. He has seen these flying over Woodworth Green, so if you don your wellies and go for a walk on the wild side along Birds Lane you may be lucky. Margaret Oldman saw a Barn Owl at dusk at the bottom of her garden with prey in its talons recently, so it looks as though we may well have a pair nesting within the parish again this year. Imagine Mary Evans's surprise when, driving towards Tarporley, she saw a man get out of a parked car with a strange brown lump on his arm. The strange lump turned out to be a large tufted owl glaring at the surroundings. Presumably, the keeper of the owl was about to "fly" it. There's more to life than caravans on the A49 !
Sue Netherton