Blebo
Craigs is rich
in birds. The reason is twofold: the houses are scattered, interspersed
with fields and varied hedgerows, all have gardens with ponds,
trees and bird tables. Beyond the village is mixed farmland and
woods from which birds commute to the village. Kemback Wood is
a rare example of mixed woodland which is a haven for wildlife.
The greenfinches "rusty gate" call is as common here
as the chaffinches "spink", bullfinches strip our plum
trees of blossom but who can resent so lovely a bird? A charm
of goldfinches are often seen on the hedgerow thistles and the
increasingly rare yellowhammer feeds nervously under our bird
tables. Willow warblers rest in the quieter gardens and chiff-chaffs
madden us with song when they do the same. The occasional blackcap
visits and where else do whitechats rest in the car park?
Great tits try to bully the cheeky little coal tits at the bird
tables, where the blue tits display the lovely body colours and
even long tailed tits find easy pickings. Robins and dunnocks
feed quietly on the dropped seeds. 
Sparrowhawks and rarely a merlin will snatch a small
bird with incredible but merciful speed. Our resident kestrel
takes mice from the hedgerows. Peregrines sometimes overfly the
village perhaps straying from the Eden estuary. The welcome return
of the common buzzard has helped to solve the rabbit problem
in the large gardens and one magical spring we were favoured
by a goshawk. Tawny owls hoot and "kioik" at us from
the woods at night and in the spring the wailing sound of long
eared owls can be heard. Pied wagtails love our lawns and rooftops.
Starlings and the increasingly rare house sparrow invades the
gardens occasionally. Mallards and moorhens breed in the larger
garden ponds. Swallow and house martins nest in our buildings.
The St Andrews' swifts scream and hawl for insects.
Overhead in summer and
in winter skies grey geese call to each other. Skylark still
sing over a few fields but the cheerful corn bunting is now a
rarity. Herring and black-headed gulls follow the tractors clearing
the overturned earth of insects. Who knows how long there has
been a rookery at Clatto? Jackdaws join their larger cousins.
Carrion crows are a mixed blessing when they scatter the rubbish
from our refuse bags. We are just south of the hoodie crow's
territory and occasional odd hybrids are seen. Jays are still
nervous of the old persecution by gamekeepers but pluck up courage
to visit our feeding stations in a hard winter. Great spotted
woodpeckers are bolder and a flick of the wings is 
enough to banish even the solid greenfinches
from the peanuts. Green woodpeckers join occasionally, but usually
laugh at us from the woods. Tree creepers spiral up on garden
trees. Siskin discover our bird tables and as suddenly abandon
them. Spotted flycatchers are as rare visitors as the common
thrush. Blackbirds reward us with their incomparable song; recently
several partial albino blackbirds were seen. Winter thrushes
denude the holly bushes of berries; mistle thrushes rest in some
gardens. Wrens bring families of tiny young into the more secluded
corners. We have a great richness of bird life to be thankful
for.
Miss Betty Rowling
