PARWICH.ORG

As we all know, these birds, known as a ‘clattering of jackdaws’ have been swirling and wheeling over Parwich for days, mostly in the evening, 500 at least, maybe many more than that as they ask their pals to join them. The tall beech trees towering over Flaxdale have been host to the colony, though they have been seen roosting towards Tissington also. Last night we went to bed leaving all the top floor windows wide open, but Mike was woken at first light, by the clattering of jackdaws and found these menacing birds clustered OVER the barn roof outside the bathroom window, along our guttering and bedroom windowsill, across the neighbours’ roofs and in the street as if waiting for their Ted Talk to begin. Pure Hitchcock! He hastily shut the windows to prevent entry to the house. Their numbers seem to be increasing daily as more pairs join these sociable birds. They normally congregate in uninhabited places like Wicken Fen, so goodness knows why they (or the starlings for that matter) find Parwich so attractive. They can damage crops apparently, but it is mainly sheep and cattle around here. Another omen of global warming perhaps? Tin hats at the ready!

Gill Radcliffe