Our lawn is a parched wasteland.
I went on the 10-hare walk today with B&B and only saw seven... But we did see three buzzards, some swallows, two pheasants (well done, Brains) and a kestrel.
One of the buzzards was on its own, but the other two got up from the crows' old patch, which means that either the crows have fledged their young and gone elsewhere for their own crowy reasons, or that the buzzards eventually drove them out. As they appeared from the trees, all the pigeons scarpered in various directions - they do not like buzzards at all. The buzzards flapped and glided about a bit, moving gradually away, calling to one another. It's a sound that really belongs to wild places and mountain passes, not mown fields abutting wheat stubble with traffic noise blown over on the breeze.
We're also in the season of little flocks of goldfinches suddenly bursting up from verges where they've been feasting on the seeds. Apparently they're partial to thistles, but I've seen them coming away from knapweed and willowherb with few to no thistles in evidence.
I've said it before and will no doubt say it again: I love the countryside. It hits some spot in my psyche and everything feels better.
Which was fortunate, as this evening I had a two and a half hour zoom committee meeting. It was friendly and constructive, but after 2 hours I was entirely done.