RIP the set-aside

Just when I though the local habitat could not be degraded any further...
Set aside ploughed in? Check.
Chemicals applied to the fields? Check.
Right, we appear to be ready for another birdless autumn.

But not quite, for life always seems to find a way of sneaking in somehow. Today saw Cuddesdon's second Whinchat appear for 2 seconds on a hedgerow, raise a cheeky supercilium at me and then disappear. Meadow Pipits and Skylarks passed over the southward bound pulses of Swallows that flew past. The sewage plant held a couple of Grey Wagtails and there were 4 Corn Bunting in Old Barns field. This Red Kite passed close overhead and the juvenile Hobby below it may well have been a locally bred bird still hanging on before Africa calls.