Birds and bells, the sound of Symi
A little bird watching from the balcony yesterday produced the results below. I’m still checking with the experts but it might be a serin? I’ll correct that if I’m wrong, but it looks similar to some I found on Symi Flora And Fauna.
We see various kinds of birds from here, though there are a lot more to be found up in the hills. Apparently the autumn migration has started, so we can expect more than our usual pigeons, seagulls and sparrows for a while now. From the balcony we can also see the hawks, kestrels I think, and every now and then other ones that I can’t identify; small brown birds smaller than a sparrow that look like wrens only slightly larger. We also hear the owls, there were a couple having a good old debate outside the open window the other night, and recently I’m sure I’ve heard a thrush. Could be a blue rock thrush, perhaps? Getting photos of them is often difficult as they are all so quick.
We also saw clouds yesterday and the weather report, having already changed since two days ago, shows cloud for today, in part, with heavy rain up on the mainland, but no rain expected here. But you never know…
Other sights and sounds from the balcony keep me going through the day: the whistles in the harbour, anchor chains falling, ships’ horns as they come in, the bell on the train, the clop of the horse’s hooves as it trails its carriage around the harbour, the mopeds on the road, the rising arpeggio of the town hall ‘boing, boing, boing’ and the announcements that follow. We hear the sea lapping sometimes, early in the morning before the boats start pulling in and out, the wind in the trees nearby, the sound of cats fighting and discussing (loudly) possible mating proposals, neighbours passing, greetings from down below, cicadas in their season and various church bells, some from behind in the village where they sound quiet, and some along the lane and from the church opposite at Harani. We don’t hear the harbour clock anymore as it’s been stuck on 11.45 for well over a year now, but we can see it. We can even hear chatter from below (careful the things you say) and the neighbour’s washing machine, hoses being used to wash recently washed courtyards, the occasional dog barking and sometimes distant music from somewhere… out there.
The weather has changed; there’s a feel of autumn in the air, thanks to the passing cloud, but that should soon clear and leave September and October as warm and pleasant as you’d expect. But it smells fresher and calmer now and not as humid, most of the time. The fan is off, there is a discussion about when to put a top sheet on the bed and today is the first time in a few months that I have to wear a shirt as I sit by my open window and type away. But there is still a long way to go before the end of the season. I’d better get bird watching and see if I can find you anything else that might be of interest. If only they’d sit still long enough for me to go and find the camera, turn it on, remember to take off the lens cap, realise I’ve turned it off, turn it on again, put the strap around my neck and then… oh it’s gone.
