From Michael Schultz:
A prominent natural feature in the village is the rookery high up in the lime trees surrounding St Matthew’s Church. Rooks are social birds and most readily distinguished from their Carrion Crow relatives by their social behaviour (Carrion Crows are usually seen singly or in pairs) and the pale base to their bills. Many of the words or phrases in folklore mentioning crows, e.g. scarecrow and ‘as the crow flies’, are believed to refer to Rooks. Although there are other theories, it is thought by some that the ‘blackbird’ in the nursery rhyme ‘Sing a Song of Sixpence’ is a Rook. At the annual Blackbird Day in Faringdon* a Blackbird Pie has been served containing Rook and Pigeon but not Blackbird.
The rookery serves for both nesting and roosting. Flocks of Rooks can be seen wheeling overhead or in fields around the village feeding on insects, seeds and sometimes root crops. They may visit larger village gardens, often together with the smaller Jackdaw, if there are plentiful food scraps.
Over the centuries Rooks and other crows have had a bad press. They have been portrayed as ugly, noisy, bad omens, witches, and preying on other birds. Little of this is justified for Rooks, and I view them positively as one of the most characteristic birds of the agricultural countryside. Living close to the church I can see – and hear – the rookery from my desk. I enjoy the sound and feel that they add to the atmosphere of St Matthew’s and the churchyard.
As a birdwatcher, I have another reason for welcoming our Rooks. Often when rising in mass from the churchyard trees and making a loud hubbub, they are confronting a potential predator. Sometimes it is one of the local Buzzards languidly catching a thermal, or a Red Kite. But over the years the Rooks on several occasions have alerted me to more interesting raptors: a migrating Osprey gaining height probably after a fish lunch at the Cotswold Water Park; a Goshawk flying low over the treetops; and a pair of Hobby chasing migrating Swallows.
I feel that the village would be poorer without the Rookery.
*Faringdon has an interesting connection with the rhyme, as the 18th century Poet Laureate Henry James Pye, who was brought up in Faringdon House, wrote what was considered to be a very bad ode for the birthday of King George III, featuring a ‘feathered choir’ and was lampooned with the punning: “and when the Pye was opened the birds began to sing; Was not that a dainty dish to set before a king?”
One thought on “CHURCHYARD ROOKERY”
My brother and I came to Langford to stay at THE CROWN in 1939 for a holiday as my grandfather (Arthur Spear) was the publican at the time. We , due to the 2nd World War starting, stayed until 1943.
I recall a rookery that was in the field between the village and the school. We would have had a “rook pie” in the spring when there was an annual “rook shoot”. We with other young boys would have helped in picking up the shot rooks.
Many happy years!!
Work brought me from Surrey in 1967 and now live in Gloucester and have visited the village many times since and popped into the village hall to have tea and biscuits on a Saturday morning. Lockdown has put a stop to this but as soon as this is again available I will be visiting.
I doubt there is anyone who would remember me now. Clive Spear