Ascent of Cyclist.

Early this morning we had a visit from the local Sparrow hawk, it clattered into the kitchen window and, having failed to gain entry, proceeded to try again. Mrs TD’s response was to wave her arms frantically to scare it off, she feels very protective towards her blue tits.
 
Herself had a doctor’s appointment at the hospital where she was, ironically, advised by a rather plump lady to put on a little weight. I heard some time ago that grateful patients often want to show their gratitude to those who cared for them during their stay and, since it seems that flowers are verboten, the options are a toss up between biscuits and chocolates. Personally, have spent a few weeks in the care of the Royal Ed, my inclination was to buy the complete Mrs Beaton and donate it to the catering department.
 
When we returned, it was apparent that the hawk had as well. There was a large scattering of Blackbird feathers. Last Sunday, one of our visitors for the bird watch was a black bird; it didn’t seem badly injured though it was remarkably tame, never a good sign, and it had some sticky up feathers with some congealed blood around them in the middle of its back. We haven’t seen it in the four days since though it had been here regularly up until this morning. Our assumption was that the hawk had previously singled it out for future use; so that was lunch sorted. Injuries to wildlife do not have to be serious in themselves to put the individual at significant risk of predation.
 
Later we had to deliver a specimen to the surgery and stopped at a show house to be nosey. The décor was specifically designed to be attractive to photographers and cyclists, this is a view of one of the bedrooms.