I was hoping for another glimpse of that magnificent Hobby, but he was nowhere in sight today.
Dragonflies were out in good numbers - mainly Black-Tailed Skimmers and Emperors.
Around the hide were 15 Canada Geese, a Coot, a Moorhen and a handful of Mallards. Only one female remained from the resident Kestrel family. Two juvenile Buzzards noisily called to their parents from the trees at the back of the main pond.
It wasn't long before the first drops of rain began to fall then....... the heavens opened. A torrential downpour accompanied by overhead thunder.
I was glad of the shelter that the hide offered (despite the leaks!).
What happened next was quite astonishing. The harder it rained the more activity appeared in the airspace above the ponds. From nowhere a large flock of House Martins and Swallows appeared, darting across the surace of the water. Through my trusty, battered binoculars I could see huge clouds of swirling insects completely oblivious to the pouring rain, and those hirundines were loving it!
When the downpour had subsided I made my way out of the damp hide and walked along the reed bed. I saw at least 5 Reed Warblers (two of the males in fine voice - belting out their demented chattering song as I passed).
A pair of Yellowhammers basked in the emerging sunlight. I was hoping for the "little bit of bread and no cheese" song but I was to be dissapointed. However, the male was a stunningly coloured handsome beast and he knew it. He could see I had a camera and he let me get close enough for a few decent shots. He was enjoying himself I'm sure. In fact, I think he winked at me. If this guy was a human he'd be reaching for the posing pouch....
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| Male Yellowhammer |
4 Ravens flew over. they were quite low so I thought I had got some cracking shots of them but because of the brightness of the sky and my rank amateur photographic skills I just ended up with a batch of ( not completely useless) silhouettes!
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| Raven |
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