The mist soon lifted and turned into a very reasonable day . Shame the same couldn't be said for the birding . It was really hard work , but I will post the details of the visit tomorrow , as I will be copicing with the Surrey Hedgelaying Group all day , and unlikely to see much wildlife .
Tonight , I would like to share a ten minute slice out of today's visit which I really enjoyed , one of those magical moments . Having returned from the hides to the car park , I was about to have my lunch , when I spotted these three juvenile Swallows , sitting on a fence rail .
They spent most of their time preening and making sure everything was just right .
Every now and again , the preening stopped , when one of the adults arrived with food .
Then , from somewhere , a fourth youngster arrived on the fence .
Which meant even more competition for each adult visit .
At one point , one of the adults stopped for a rest for a few minutes .
Then it was back to the preening and watching .
Suddenly , several alarm calls rang out , to warn of a Sparrowhawk hunting in the area .
The chirping and preening stopped , and all four turned sideways on , so there was nothing showing over the fence rail they were sitting on . 
Motionless , they stayed like that for a good five minutes , when the all clear was announced , and it was back to the feeding and preening .
6 comments:
That really is a classic photo of them all looking skywards Greenie :-)
Hi Greenie.
Nice Photo's of the juvenile Swallows.
What time was you at Elmley? Did you see the temmincks Stint at all?
Very interesting behavior that you documented, Greenie.
Ken ,
I arrived at 0915 and left at 1330 , but only visited Wellmarsh hide , which only held the usual outside . Very quiet along track , but didn't see the TS .
A really delightful post and series of photos, Greenie. I particularly like the third one down. As you so rightly say, the whole episode was one of those magical moments that you can't put a price on!
Impressive description and interpretation of the youngsters' reaction to the Sparrowhawk, Fred.
With good pics too.
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