A VIEW FROM THE HILL – November 2026

November 2026

MISSING

Another spring and summer have slipped by, again I have not heard a Cuckoo in this valley. Not only not here, but anywhere, to me, they have sadly gone away. Not only that, but I did not notice any Swallows flying about here. They have never nested near here, in spite of there being many old buildings and a stream for mud, but in balmy weather, they would come to feed. Then, on reflection, I concluded that I had not seen many Swallows at all. Are their numbers falling too? It is all rather sad, things one grows up with and expects, simply disappearing. Of course, we the humans are the ones responsible for the demise of the natural world.

Peter Lockwood

Photograph: Andy Morffew from Itchen Abbas, Hampshire