I suppose we are allowed to have off days, but I still felt guilty about it. Hence me getting another 10km run in today, where while it was cold and windy it was at least bearable.
It was worth it, too.
I ran out to Farndon, then cut along the path to the power station on the other side of the river. It was here that I ran into a veritable storm of swallows, house martins and swifts feeding where the river drops off over a weir and presumably the rising insects were a rich source of food.
There appeared to be a sand martin colony based in the river bank too. Maybe about 50-60 birds present, although sadly rather distant.
Happily, on my side of the river I was treated to some prime aerobatics as the swallows skimmed the furrows of the freshly ploughed field, and the martins and swifts scythed about overhead, challenging the wind to do its worst.
I was happy to interrupt my run to take it all in for a bit.
Wasn't the only good sighting I had either, earlier on in a cow pasture over the river from the South Marina, I flushed a pair of noisy oystercatchers.
Si
All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 11.05.20
Great! And Oystercatchers are my favourite bird.
ReplyDeleteSo that's where all the swallows have gone! Very few around here still.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
ReplyDelete