Crook, Co Durham: Do the birds spread their wings out in the heat to shake off lice, boost oil secretion, or simply revel in the rays?
I guessed that the intermittent rustling sound under the beech hedge was a blackbird foraging, even before the culprit emerged, maniacally hurling dead leaves to left and right in a vain search for worms. During the hot weather earthworms have burrowed deep and curled up in underground chambers to escape the drought; there hasn’t been enough rain to coax them back to the surface.
The bird stood on the path, looked briefly in my direction, and sat with drooping wings, seemingly in a state of utter exhaustion, with his back to the sun. Then he seemed to collapse, beak open, rump feathers puffed up, wings spread wide, tail fanned.
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