Fanfare For The Common Bird

 Aaron Copeland wrote Fanfare For The Common Man in 1942, but I must say I hadn't heard it until Emerson, Lake and Palmer brought it to prominence with their rendition in 1977.

 

The summer migrants bring an excitement and exuberance to the days when they arrive and start to sing, and the occasional rarity turning up also adds to the overall lift that you get through spring. All very well and great while it lasts, but eventually all the summer and passage migrants leave and we are left with our common, resident birds. They should not be forgotten or ignored through these warmer months.

 

It was with this thought in mind that I started to think about them and for no real reason, apart from that's just how my mind works, I started to hum Fanfare For The Common Man and replaced "Man" with "Bird" - hence the title for this post.

 

I've been thinking about this for a couple of weeks and took the opportunity to take some photos of our resident birds, which are shown below and augmented with one or two older photos that fit the bill (pun intended🤣).

 

Still the nation's favourite bird - Robin

At the Mere Chaffinch is one of the most numerous passerine

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Wren, what a raucous song for a tiny bird!

Pheasants are always there in the background

Not in my Top 100 but it's a good looking bird though

 Reed Buntings are with us all year but only sing through Spring/Summer. They are almost a member of the little brown job club, but the male stands out with his white moustache even in winter.

Female Reed Bunting

Reed Bunting

One of the birds that is a favourite of mine is the Skylark. It's song is a constant remionder of my late childhood days spent walking on the South Pennine moors. They are declining in numbers sadly so enjoy them while they are relatively common.

 

Skylark

Yellowhammer

Finishing on a colourful note, the Yellowhammer is another resident bird that really is eye-catching in full breeding plumage, but is also bright and charming through the rest of the year too. 

There they are - a selection of local residents for us to enjoy almost every day of the year. Get out among them and really appreciate them, they are, like so much of our wildlife, going fast as we make their natural habitat inhospitable.