These pages have been rather quiet of late! Hardly surprising, as 2019 has been a particularly hectic year, with almost no time for sound recording. Among other major family events, after nearly 40 years living in Newcastle upon Tyne we have moved house, and have swapped urban life for rural, the Tyne for the Ouse, in the geographical heart of our native Yorkshire. So now, instead of looking out over a busy main road with its ever increasing traffic, the views – and the sounds – from our windows are significantly different.
The wildlife is understandably different too. I thought my garden wildlife list in Gosforth was good, but this place offers daily surprises, whether overhead, in our meadows, in the hedgerows laden with berries, or in one of our spectacularly beautiful mature oak trees.
The raptor list alone is impressive: Red kite, Buzzard, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk are daily visitors, but I wasn’t expecting Peregrine and Hobby, the latter chasing the abundant hirundines on occasional evenings. As we move into autumn, a Tawny owl has begun calling in the past couple of weeks, just 5 metres from my desk (yes, mics are already permanently fixed below my window), a Barn owl screeches a few fields away, but to be able to stand at the kitchen sink listening to Little owls is quite amazing.
The bird feeders are busy with Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Chaffinch, hoards of tits, and the occasional Tree sparrow. Collared doves have peaked at an almighty 12. It’s costing a fortune in bird food and it’s not yet winter! And we also have had to get used to these blighters.
Regularly being able to watch Red squirrels was one of the great things about living in Northumberland, but here it’s only their American cousins so I guess we’ll just have to put up with them. Quite fun though to watch them leap across the fences or chase noisily over the tree trunks. Hedgehogs, rabbits, voles and mice abound, and last night a Noctule bat was cruising between the trees.
So all in all, it looks like a good move. We’re missing the sea, but the beer’s better, and hopefully these pages will soon fill with some Yorkshire wildlife sounds.
Simon Elliott 
Stunning photos, Simon. Welcome back to Yorkshire!
Jim. Thanks. Amazing to hear from you! What are you up to these days? Simon
I left a reply, but I don’t think the moderators allowed it. I’m happy for them to pass my email address on to you. I’m also on Facebook.
I took voluntary redundancy/early retirement 6 years ago, and spend a lot of time now on my allotment growing mainly vegetables. You sound as if you’ve been busy since you moved there. Have you been able to do anything else? Incidentally, my Facebook page has a picture of an old car, like Paul’s dad had in the 1970s. I don’t think I’m allowed to post my email address on here.