Country diary: How can a bird appear so fast and so slow at the same time? | Mark Cocker

Blackclough, Derbyshire: Golden plovers are stunning to watch, and known for their sparkling appearance in flight - but they set the close observer a conundrum as wellBy 7.30am, the sun was up over Axe Edge and was coming down through a sky of pure starling-egg blue. The column of smoke arising from a far farmhouse chimney was the only sign of human presence, and in all that sunlit quietness the songs of displaying golden plovers - the first for the year and among the earliest I've ever logged in our area - acquired even more meaning.The species is a medium-sized, round-headed wader more delicate than a lapwing, with upper parts peppered black on a background colour that is mid-journey between green and gold. In spring, the linen-white breast reacquires a black oval patch, and in all seasons the undersides of the long narrow wings shine silver. Continue reading...