The Swift and the Sparrowhawk

This would have been a very mundane little walk tonight, on a pleasant if not spectacular evening, with just some pretty pictures of the dandelion clocks on the Devon Pastures, if it wasn't for a couple of spectacular avian encounters I had after I'd done my 2km trot through the park.

I'd just emerged onto Farndon Road, when I looked up to see a small bird being pursued by a raptor of some kind at very high speed. Abruptly the bird performed a handbrake 180 in the air, and its pursuer made a sort of desperate upward lunge to try and take it in its talons.

It missed.

With insane reflexes, it immediately lunged at another bird - a swift - which similarly escaped by pulling a scything, slicing turn and heading back where it came, at which point the would be killer settled itself down and slowly flapped off along the River Devon. I decided from its long tail and broadish, fingered wings that it was a sparrowhawk, although it was silhouetted against a low bright sun. 

Immediately afterwards, I went past the cob horse field and noticed a bird alight on a tree stump. At first I thought it was a thrush before I realised it was way too big; then it made a leap at a blackbird feeding nearby. It was a kestrel, although seemingly such a rubbish one said blackbird carried on happily feeding even after it had side stepped the attack.

Finally, although three is more than a couple, I had the pleasure of a close range head high encounter with a swift as it blasted past me before finding its way into a gap less than an inch high in the eaves of a nearby house. They've only been home a couple of weeks, so I'm guessing this is nest building rather than rearing, but I could be wrong. 

So good to see them nesting!

Si

A lovely evening

Ceonothus

Devon Reflections

What time is it?

Willow tree

Devon Pasture

Buttercups unfurl

Flare!!!

Cow parsley

Me in the river, at the lock

Sunset