My Hobby Rocks

Today I was working down in southern Lincolnshire and wasn't really expecting to see too much from a random bit of farmland but in the end I ended up seeing a variety of interesting birds and more surprisingly 4 year ticks. A stop at a yocal shop for some breakfast resulted in my first Common Swift of the year with 4 birds screaming around overhead, its always nice to see your first swifts of the year and I'm now looking forward to getting some back home, there is just something magical about these birds that I love.

On to my bit of farmland and it was immediately evident that warblers were plentiful with Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Common Whitethroat, Blackcap and Lesser Whitethroat calling and singing. As I reached my spot for the day I was welcomed by two further year ticks in the form of Sedge Warbler and Reed Warbler. The Sedgy was going mental in a bit of Oilseed Rape singing from the top of the crop while about 30m away slightly hidden from the top of the crop the Reedy was also warbling away and gradually as it gained confidence that I was 'alright' it came out and showed along the front of the crop only a few feet in front of me. It's amazing to see the number of birds that will come up close when you stand still for a while, some of the highlights today included 4 Corn Bunting, 2 Yellowhammer, 2 Linnet, 4 Reed Bunting, a confiding pair of Little Owl and a good dozen or so Yellow Wagtails, including the one below (phone-scoped).

However, highlight of the day was Hobby, my fourth year tick of the day. I picked up one bird distantly as it flew towards me, it was chasing down insects and eating them on the wing, as it came closer it was suddenly joined by two other birds, all three then proceeded to hawk for insects, occasionally getting mobbed by the odd Swallow, they showed spectacularly well with one of the birds going right over my head. All in all the birds were on show for a good 40 minutes, giving a really good window into their habits.

Butterflies were also in evidence with Orange-tip, Green-veined White, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock all showing well.

As the weather closed in it was time to leave and head home. A very quick tour of the local patch in the rain showed that the 4 ducklings had survived the previous night and the whole of today, fingers crossed!!!