I was walking the dogs at dusk (about 4pm!) and noticed a flock of pigeons that had settled in for an all-you-can-eat seed and worm buffet on the ploughed field. I was just reflecting that the many shades of grey of their plumage - from pearl and smoke through lavender and soft brown to slate - exactly matched the shades of the cloudy sky, when Maia charged headlong into their midst and sent them all flapping up in a panic. They swirled off towards the trees, did a circuit and landed again. Maia let them all settle down for a moment, and then charged and they all took to the air again. They must have played this game five or six times before the birds got fed up and flew off to another field.
