Almost Saying Au Revoir…
(Oystercatchers at Mousehole, 27th June 2026…)
Early morning, a cool walk along Cliff Road, past the new terminus,
Much debated and indeed hated by the villagers, for the local ‘bus.
Yet a single plaintive sound eked through the hustling rush of the tide below
And the brush of the breeze, as the inkling of a sunrise shone its muted glow.
Moments later, as I strolled along the parched sea wall with hesitant feet,
The bristling ocean was only just on the turn for its slow summer retreat
And I wondered whether I really had heard an oystercatcher’s whistle, its piping sound
Amongst the weed-strewn boulders. And I scoured them, slick and wet upon the ground.
Scavenging in rock pools, jabbing at limpets and rifling through weed, I spotted a pair,
Before one rose and took flight towards Newlyn, trajectory low but with such colour and flair,
Then it piped a single note on the wing, drawing a response from the remaining bird
And thus spoke my own farewell to them, a chap detected but certainly not heard…
Pete Ray…
28th June 2026…
The small group of oystercatchers I have seen regularly at Mousehole must be amongst the most photographed anywhere…
The one bird I spoke to as I left the wall seemed to linger, almost accepting of me and I felt a kind of kinship with it.
It was my final morning in Mousehole, following a two-week holiday there and I had photographed/filmed the oystercatchers just about every day…
I hope it really was ‘au revoir’…
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