Mystery bird

I managed a proper walk from Hessenford to Downderry today. And saw a mystery bird which I am unable to identify. I heard it first, making a loud PRRRRRRRP sound, then turned round and saw it on a branch just behind me, clearly PRRRRRRRPing in my direction. About the size of a thin blackbird it was, with a dark reddish brown front, from chin level right down to the belly. The rest seemed blackish, but as I only saw it from directly front on I can't be sure. Long narrow tail held upright. It ducked its head forwards and down to PRRRRRRRP, then lifted it up again.

I've just spent - indeed am still spending - an hour or so listening to CDs of birdsong, looking in my reference books, and can find nothing resembling it. Which is quite annoying.

It was nice in the woods and not too muddy, in spite of the recent heavy rains. The sycamores in the valley seem to have some sort of disease with their leaves all curling up and brown. None of that in the coombe, so far anyway, although I have seen it there in previous years.

Ty did his usual trick under the bridge of swimming half way across, suddenly being swept away by the current ('bark, bark' 'help, help') going round the corner then getting out and doing it again, waiting for some innocent walker to leap in and save him. I let him do it about ten times today before I called him out of the water; he would have been happy to stay there all day.

In the waterlily pond I saw two moorhens with chicks - one with one, the other with two. And still only the one mallard duckling. I don't understand why there are so few this year. One of my friends thinks that someone has been feeding the Seaton ducks with contraceptive spiked food all winter. I find that hard to believe, but there has to be some explanation for the almost total absence of ducklings. In normal years there are hundreds of them this time of year.

Anyway the local pub has now reopened under new ownership, with posh terrace furniture and even posher food. We had a couple of very pleasant drinks on the terrace, but opted for a Chinese takeaway on the way home.

(This has been typed in ten finger typing, with the splint off. It gets easier as the fingers get used to it and unstiffen, but this is enough and I shall put the splint back on again now. I've done my exercises...)