Simon Barnes Author and Journalist

Sports and Wild Blog

Simon Barnes
  • Home
  • Biog
  • Blog
  • Books
  • Pictures
  • Contact
  • Twitter

Wild June and a sky filled with passion

2 June 2019 by Simon Barnes 8 Comments

The boat is called the Golden Mean, but there was little moderation that day: the first day of June, the first of 30 Days Wild that the family, as encouraged by the Wildlife Trusts, will try and follow: at least one wild moment every single day of a wild month. It is the start of a month of excess.

Our friends the Harrisons live on the Golden Mean, and they invited us to their home for a gentle chug down the Waveney, the river that divides – or unites – Norfolk and Suffolk. It was there we celebrated the new month. Not a bad way to seek nature, sitting at the bow, away from the thrum of the engine, binoculars to one side and a cold beer at the other. Reed warblers and reed buntings sounded a perpetual fanfare as we passed.

It was on the way back that it happened. I was suddenly aware of what looked like a huge brown falcon, going like the clappers along the river, overtaking the boat and then making a sharp ascent. In an instant the mystery was solved, for she flew straight to a male marsh harrier that was waiting for her in the sky with wings outstretched.

Harriers mostly fly with slow beats mixed with long and slightly wobbly glides: here was a harrier filled with sudden speed and purpose. The reason for this was revealed at once, for in this passionate meeting in the sky – like the meeting of two long-separated lovers – she inverted, the male let fall a dark item of food and she caught it in her talons, doing so with the greatest nonchalance. She then dropped to devour while the male cruised away in search of more.

This, then, was the famous marsh harrier food-pass. Why do they do it? It seemed obvious from the deck of the Godden Mean: because when you perform it right, you feel really rather fabulous: and what’s more, fabulous in your togetherness. The manoeuvre requires top-notch flying skills and finely-judged coordination. It can only come from extensive practice. It is a great bravura celebration of being a marsh harrier, sure, but more than that, it is a celebration of being two marsh harriers together, both involved in the glorious task of making more marsh harriers. Here was a sky filled with passion.

Share this:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Posted in Wildblog

Comments

  1. Anthony Bird says

    2 June 2019 at 6:45 pm

    Simon, another fine picture you have painted for us, I really need to find some similar friends!!

    Reply
    • Simon Barnes says

      17 June 2019 at 6:48 pm

      Well, best wishes from me anyway!

      Reply
  2. Michael John Clark says

    2 June 2019 at 7:16 pm

    You just capture the beauty of nature and the reason why if it goes, life will be so much less in this age of Brexit, Trump, religious and political bigotry. Thank you again Mr Barnes.

    Reply
    • Simon Barnes says

      17 June 2019 at 6:48 pm

      Always best to concentrate on the positives, yes?

      Reply
  3. Wes Pickering says

    3 June 2019 at 1:40 am

    thanks for the picture Simon, great to be reading more of these from you.
    all the very best to Eddie.

    Reply
    • Simon Barnes says

      17 June 2019 at 6:49 pm

      And we send ours back to you.

      Reply
  4. Caroline Howlett says

    3 June 2019 at 4:15 pm

    Sublime. Last week, I was similarly joined with nature, encompassed within in a whirring scribble of twenty or so long tail tits in their suppertime part-dance part-feast. The air filled with their contact peep peeps, whizzing about my head from one shrubby hawthorn to another across the water meadows’ Causeway. Oblivious to my presence, I felt at the same time, a part of the show. Humbling.

    Reply
    • Simon Barnes says

      17 June 2019 at 6:49 pm

      Long tailed tits have been called the convenors of the flock. They call the world to order.

      Reply

Please leave a comment Cancel reply

Receive Blog Updates By Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to my blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 5,416 other subscribers.

Recent Comments

  • Penny Woollams on Swift as a bow from an arrow…
  • Rob Howell on Swift as a bow from an arrow…
  • Jolyon Barton on Swift as a bow from an arrow…
  • Michael Clark on Cousin Caterpillar… one day he’ll wake with wings
  • Alan P on Swift as a bow from an arrow…

Categories

  • Myblog (7)
  • Sportsblog (7)
  • Wildblog (215)

Archives

  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • July 2018
  • May 2018
  • February 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • June 2017
  • April 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014

© Simon Barnes · info@simonbarnesauthor.co.uk
Home page photograph © David Bebber · Bird drawings © foxillustration.com
Created by Purple Hippo

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.