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Image-of-the-Day by Subject

Image Taken on 14 Mar 2010 at 09:42    Image of day on 21 Apr 2010

This Sparrowhawk made an atypical loop round the house before vanishing as fast as it arrived.


Ref: 20100421_df1_20100314_0942_044 sparrowhawk overhead (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 14 Sep 2009 at 09:19    Image of day on 27 Oct 2009

We don't see much of this bird except as Wham-Bang-Grab-Gone visits to take tits at the bird feeders, so its nice to get a few pics. The bird actually got so close it filled the frame for a moment but horribly blurred and human necks don't bend far enough backwards to follow it.


Ref: 20091027_db1_20090914_0919_072 sparrowhawk single flyby (selected) 1 of 8 (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 14 Sep 2009 at 09:19    Image of day on 27 Oct 2009

Ref: 20091027_db1_20090914_0919_073 sparrowhawk single flyby (selected) 2 of 8 (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 14 Sep 2009 at 09:19    Image of day on 27 Oct 2009

Ref: 20091027_db1_20090914_0919_087 sparrowhawk single flyby (selected) 8 of 8 (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 01 Sep 2010 at 17:48    Image of day on 25 Oct 2010

And now a moment from their hunting technique - sit on a wire, post or branch until you see a tempting insect. Launch towards it (may be 0.5 to several metres away), grab it, then fly back to your previous perch or another one nearby. Here we were lucky to catch the exact moment of the insect inside the beak but not yet captive - it did get it judging by the following two frames.


Ref: 20101025_df1_20100901_1748_163 spotted flycatcher in flight with insect going into beak (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 27 May 2009 at 05:51    Image of day on 20 Jun 2009

The starlings that nested in the loft have fledged and are appearing round the house. We don't know what is going on here, but mostly they are being fed by parents or feeding themselves. The parent is on the left.


Ref: 20090620_d36_20090527_0551_106 fb3 starling adult male and fledgling face to face in flight(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 18 May 2011 at 17:49    Image of day on 14 Jun 2011

Young starlings are in abundance. This family has at least 3 youngsters being fed at feeders, in bushes & on the ground.


Ref: 20110614_d3b_20110518_1749_193_fb3 starling juvenile landing on perch(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 06 Jun 2014 at 15:28    Image of day on 11 Aug 2014

The 100 juvenile starling (and a few adults) flying over the Oil-seed rape crop and then diving down into it en-mass to feed.


Ref: 20140811_df2_20140606_1528_134 100 starlings (mostly juveniles) in flight while feeding in oil-seed rape crop (crop 2)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 17 Aug 2008 at 11:51    Image of day on 03 Sep 2008

The swallows continue to delight, and this pair of consecutive images at the start of a session show you top and bottom of the bird.


Ref: 20080903_dc1_20080817_1151_001 swallow about to swoop down from wire(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image of day on 22 Aug 2006

This montage of two images taken late morning 14 Aug 2003 shows another image of swallows feeding in flight. The camera takes just over 3 frames/sec so these are about .3 second apart (left to right).


Ref: 20060822_d10_00699+00700 swallow feeding young in flight (processed montage about 300ms apart)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 04 Sep 2007 at 17:41    Image of day on 30 Sep 2007

Montage of about .75 seconds of a swallow passing food to it's chick.


Ref: 20070930_d01_20070904_1741_050_to_54 swallow feeding young in flight montage of 1 to 5 of 5(r+mb id@1024).jpg

Image Taken on 03 Sep 2010 at 12:18    Image of day on 24 Oct 2010

Adult swallows sometimes feed their youngster on the wing. They generally rise up facing each other to get the appropriate beak alignment for just a moment.


Ref: 20101024_df1_20100903_1218_031 swallow feeding youngster in flight (selected frames) 2 of 2 (crop @432)(r+mb id@432).jpg

Image Taken on 14 Jun 2008 at 13:02    Image of day on 25 Jun 2008

Ref: 20080625_dc1_20080614_1302_215 swallow in flight(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 05 Apr 2016 at 15:47    Image of day on 07 May 2016

The first Swallow of the year for us, 10 days earlier than last year.


Ref: 20160507_df3_20160405_1547_067 swallow in flight (first sighting in 2016) (crop 2)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image of day on 28 Aug 2005

Swallow out collecting insects. They will be leaving soon for a warmer continent and feed intensively before they go.


Ref: 20050828_d60_05132 swallow in flight (full frame) 2005aug21_12-06-04(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 19 Jun 2009 at 17:09    Image of day on 17 Jul 2009

Swifts continue to delight us with a group of about 10 visiting the area a few times many days. Here is the same bird in two successive frames


Ref: 20090717_db1_20090619_1709_094+095 swallow in flight (montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 27 Jul 2017 at 13:08    Image of day on 11 Sep 2017

The first three (right to left) frames from the above at the accurate spacing for 7 frames per second.


Ref: 20170911_df3_20170727_1308_031-033 swallow in flight 01-03 of 10 (accurate montage @ 7fps)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 27 Jul 2017 at 13:08    Image of day on 11 Sep 2017

A swallow flyby showing how these birds spend a lot of their flight time in 'streamlined' mode. All these positions in just over a second - their world must go at a different speed to ours!


Ref: 20170911_df3_20170727_1308_031-039 swallow in flight 01-09 of 10 (close spaced montage @ 7fps)(r+mb id@1024).jpg

Image Taken on 22 Sep 2015 at 17:42    Image of day on 20 Nov 2015

The Swallows are now mostly simply passing over, rather than stopping for a feed, as they make their way back to Africa.


Ref: 20151120_df3_20150922_1742_090-095 swallow in flight 1-6 of 6 (accurate montage)(r+mb id@1024).jpg

Image of day on 01 Jun 2005

Swallows and Swifts are being seen, but the conditions are not right for good photos. So here is an image from last year.


Ref: 20050601_d12_00605 swallow in flight 2004jun22_10-20-32(r+mb id@576).jpg

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