Dun-pickles on the downs

30 April · Wiltshire

Lore and belief

It was said in Wiltshire that the dun-pickles, or moor buzzards, came down in great numbers on the downs before rain. Hone gives it among a set of old weather rules drawn from the behaviour of animals, alongside the saying that sheep and cattle gather in one corner of a field before a storm, all facing away from the wind. The rules were meant for farmers and gardeners, on the ground that animals feel a coming change in the air sooner than people do.

It is said in Wiltshire, that the dun-pickles or moor buzzards alight in great numbers on the downs before rain.

From Hone's Every-Day Book, vol. 1, cols. 535-536. Read the original

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Folklore from the old calendars

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The May bush in Westmeath No longer kept LeinsterSir Henry Piers wrote in 1682 that on May Eve every family in Westmeath set up a green bush before its door, strewn over with the yellow flowers that the meadows yielded in plenty.
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Dun-pickles on the downs

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