Hobbies & Hawkers

In the garden this afternoon staring up at a fantastic skyscape, I was fantasising as usual about the rare birds that might fly over when I spotted what I at first took to be a late Swift drifting west. In fact it was a Hobby and amazingly it was joined by a second bird. The pair then did some gentle aerobatics before one powered off to the north and the other stooped at tremendous speed until lost from sight behind the pub.  

As with so much in birding this was simply a case of being in the right place at the right time but it highlights too just how much must pass through unnoticed each year.

In the bottom fields the male Stonechat was still present, mainly around the Rich Ditch area.

At the lake this Southern Hawker was very active but then flew into the shade of the wood, hung from a branch and went into a kind of torpor allowing very close inspection of this striking dragonfly. Unfortunately the light conditions were not conducive to great photography but worth including anyway.