ONE of the unforeseen pleasures of walking Esme through the countryside is the wildlife and particularly birds.

Look down and there are lots of rabbits and even, south of Bramdean, some hares. Last summer I saw nine in one field. Esme chased them. Unsuccessfully.

I know there are badgers and foxes but I have yet to see any.

But look up and it’s a different story. I won’t list them all, but highlights include seeing a red kite being buzzed by a lapwing, also known as a peewit. It was a bit like watching an energetic bantamweight take on an uninterested heavyweight.

The upper Itchen valley also has several egrets, the Mediterranean cousin of the heron, only half the size and bright white.

I never tire of rooks; the cacophony and the beautiful patterns they make in the sky – ragged, languid yet oddly lovely.

Easily the strangest experience was recently having a jackdaw land on my shoulder. He was so light that I barely felt his weight only the heavy stare with his beady eye, only inches away.

Fans of Hitchcock’s The Birds may be keen to know that he didn’t peck my eye out. He was merely hoping for some food. It turns out he was reared by hand by a local chap, and preferred to hang around the neighbourhood, although he’s flown away recently.

Another favourite of the skies are the Chinooks, those magnificent helicopters based at Odiham near Basingstoke. Some people dislike their low flying. I love them and the ‘wumpah-wumpah’ noise they make.

Perhaps the people who complain should be reminded the pilots are training for dangerous missions in Afghanistan. A little disturbance is nothing when the fliers are risking something more than the enjoyment of the peace of the English countryside.