Hobbies At Last

After more than forty years in the waiting last week I was able to watch three recently fledged Hobbies at a secret locality in the Pennines. Feeds occurred in mid air at breath taking speed as the noisy youngsters caught, from the adults, what looked like hirundines and flew off with them to be devoured on dead trees near by. They were constantly hassled by Jackdaws seeking to relieve them of their prey. Despite the elusive nature of Hobbies all my sightings were from a public footpath. During the last two weeks I have been waiting for two young Barn Owls, in this week’s photo, to leave their nest site and perch on fence posts against the setting sun. Six nights waiting with some wonderful sunsets but alas the young Barn Owls stayed in doors on a water tank where there had been reared. At least one night I was able to save a Chaffinch that lay stunned in the middle of the road. The next car along would have flattened it and I was pleased to be able to move it to the hedgerow where it will have recovered. In the garden a male Blackcap has been feeding on the ripening berries of the Honeysuckle but has not come regular enough for me to capture it on film.