Return to moorhen home page
Return to section index
Image-of-the-Day by Subject
Birds, Insects & Bats in flight (outdoors) Page 72
Image Taken on 22 Feb 2026
at 15:13 Image of day on 30 Mar 2026
A closer view of the Sparrowhawk's mad yellow eyes.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20260330_e60_20260222_1513_042_fb3 sparrowhawk male landing on kitchen perch (crop 2)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 02 Jul 2025
at 11:44 Image of day on 22 Aug 2025
WOW! This male Sparrowhawk takes a wonderful selfie.
(r+mb id@1024).jpg)
Ref: 20250822_e60_20250702_1144_053_fb3 sparrowhawk male landing on kitchen perch (crop)(r+mb id@1024).jpg
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.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Ref: 20100421_df1_20100314_0942_044 sparrowhawk overhead (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 17 Aug 2023
at 07:01 Image of day on 13 Oct 2023
This Sparrowhawk made a short visit to the Meadow Post an hour or so after sunrise.
This looks like a female, but more probably a new juvenile, sussing out the area.
(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20231013_d01_20230817_0701_001_fb6 sparrowhawk prob juvenile landing on meadow post 1 of 2 (crop)(r+mb id@768).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.
 1 of 8 (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg)
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
 2 of 8 (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg)
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
 8 of 8 (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg)
Ref: 20091027_db1_20090914_0919_087 sparrowhawk single flyby (selected) 8 of 8 (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 06 Aug 2023
at 07:18 Image of day on 26 Sep 2023
A single grass seed head bent over by this the tiny spider's web. The long
strand from the tip of the grass back out of from on the right looks like some
sort of structural entity - that minute speck of a creature know how to do
structural engineering!
.jpg)
Ref: 20230926_df3_20230806_0718_003 spider web pulling grass stem into semi circle(r+mb id@768).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.
(r+mb id@576).jpg)
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.
.jpg)
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 10 Mar 2026
at 12:50 Image of day on 11 Apr 2026
We intended to caption this as a "flock of about 2000 starlings with at least half
as many out of frame on either side".
But our 'adventurous' side thought it was time to get an AI engine to help with
the counting. For no particular reason we landed on aicado.ai
who provided the following summary (HTML tags simplified, but text as shown):-
- Scene: Open rural landscape with hedgerow and leafless trees under bright overcast sky.
- Primary objects: Very large flock of small birds in flight forming a murmurating pattern.
- Quantity: Several hundred to ~1,500 individuals (silhouette density suggests 10^3 order of magnitude).
- Likely species: Starlings (probable, based on size and murmuration behavior).
- Anomalies/hazards: None visible (no aircraft, predators, or collisions apparent).
Remarkably accurate, and we like the way the choices are explained.
 to south (orig)(r+mb id@768).jpg)
Ref: 20260411_r52_20260310_1250_032 1500 starling flock (centre section) to south (orig)(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 14 Feb 2026
at 13:22 Image of day on 24 Mar 2026
Flocks of birds often perch for a while in the Black Poplars near the centre of our patch.
What is unusual here is that on either side of the same tree we see a small flock of
Starlings on the left side, but a small flock of Fieldfares on the right.
.jpg)
Ref: 20260324_r52_20260214_1322_078 starling flock on left of black poplar and fieldfare flock on the right(r+mb id@768).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.
.jpg)
Ref: 20110614_d3b_20110518_1749_193_fb3 starling juvenile landing on perch(r+mb id@576).jpg
Image Taken on 08 Mar 2021
at 14:08 Image of day on 02 Apr 2021
Following sighting of only a few starlings, we were really surprised to see this
elegant moving cloud to the south, rising up and landing for a cause we couldn't
see. We estimate 1500 birds in this section you can see.
 in flight 2 of 2 (crop)(r+mb id@1024).jpg)
Ref: 20210402_d73_20210308_1408_018 1500 starlings (approx) in flight 2 of 2 (crop)(r+mb id@1024).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.
 in flight while feeding in oil-seed rape crop (crop 2)(r+mb id@768).jpg)
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 28 Nov 2023
at 12:39 Image of day on 03 Jan 2024
The Starlings were not a single group - this flock of about 80 seemed to appear
out of nowhere, only slightly depleting the number on the wires.
.jpg)
Ref: 20240103_df3_20231128_1239_009 80 starlings in flight(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 28 Nov 2023
at 12:39 Image of day on 03 Jan 2024
From another frame of the flock of 80 Starlings, here is an extraction of 9 for more detail.
.jpg)
Ref: 20240103_df3_20231128_1239_008 9 starlings in flight part of flock of about 80(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 17 May 2022
at 18:52 Image of day on 24 Jun 2022
Next evening the Stock Dove visits again for this rather Quirky portrait.
.jpg)
Ref: 20220624_e60_20220517_1852_055_fb3 stock dove landing on kitchen perch(r+mb id@768).jpg
Image Taken on 16 May 2022
at 19:56 Image of day on 24 Jun 2022
We haven't seen a Stock Dove for many months.
This one has made several appearances since this moment of discovery.
.jpg)
Ref: 20220624_e60_20220516_1956_021_fb3 stock dove landing on kitchen perch - 1st of 2022(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.
.jpg)
Ref: 20080903_dc1_20080817_1151_001 swallow about to swoop down from wire(r+mb id@576).jpg
Comments and requests for image use
To make a comment, ask for information or to request a full
resolution image, send us an email including the reference or
the date for the image you are interested in.
All initial contacts should be made using the icon below:-
