A couple of years back I invested in one of those smart-phones, as they call ’em.

I’m not quite sure why I went down that route but I suppose the idea of a pocket computer intrigued me.

I use it as a phone on occasion but not very often. More frequently I use it as a torch or to find a problem on my home network. It’s handy too for swapping files with Daughter using WhatsApp or for connecting to my bank accounts.. There are a few little programmes I find very neat and handy though such as Windy and Flightradar24.

One programme I have used a lot over the past couple of months is BirdNET.. It’s an absolutely amazing piece of work. I step outside, run the programme for a few seconds and then tell it to analyse and identify every birdsong it has heard. Not only will it identify them but will give me details about them all, including photographs. I have built up quite a collection.

The two most common are the Blackbird and Blackcap. The Blackcaps are everywhere and there’s a lot of them judging by their constant call [it’s a beautiful high-pitched melodic whistle]. The strange thing though is that I don’t think I have ever seen one [there’s one singing loudly now as I scribble this]. i have seen all the others – the Blackbirds, Thrushes, Finches and Tits of every shape and colour. There’s a tame Robin that sings to me when I put out bird seed. But no Blackcaps. Weird.

On the topic of birds we have a couple of Collared Doves. There are two bird tables outside Herself’s window And I stock them up with seeds on a regular basis. As they are close to the house, that tends to scare the bigger ones but the Finches, Tits and Robins love it. And also the Doves.

The Doves are very regular. They always arrive as a pair and usually they happily peck away side by side. Occasionally though one will fly over to the window sill. He’ll stand there staring into the room and then march up and down the width of the window, stopping every few steps to stare again at every angle. Is he “casing the joint” to see if it’s worth breaking in? Does he fly off to tell his mates how he has a pair of pet Humans trapped in a glass box? Are we just an exhibit and there just for his amusement?

I don’t suppose I’ll ever have the answer.