Falco Subbuteo etc.....Sunday 25th September 2016.

As Trace was going to catch up on her sleep this morning and the overnight rain had eventually cleared,i decided to head over to Bonby Carrs for a change,it didn't disappoint.
 I parked in usual style by the Soak Drain and before i set off towards the Ancholme i had ten minutes of scanning the nearby hilllside and fields.This proved fruitfull,with 3 Common Buzzard over the wold top and a lovely doe Roe Deer in an adjacent field nearby.
 It was fairly breezy as i headed off,providing excellent conditions for raptors and the local corvids were all over the place,with a noisy flock of Rooks and Jackdaws feeding in one of the pasture fields.
 As i neared the first of the mature hedgerows,it was noticeable that there were quite a good number of Reed Buntings present,with at least 42 birds being counted along with smaller numbers of Yellowhammer and the best of the bunch,6 Corn Bunting.They were all seen flying into the adjacent stubble to no doubt feed on spilt grain,what a great sight to see,all three species together.
 Along the pasture fields a few flocks of both Meadow Pipits and Skylark were seen,with a couple of Pied Wagtail also.
 A few ducks were also seen in the wetter areas in the pasture fields and this included a lovely Pintail which was seen flying west towards Rowland Plantation.
 At the river,very little was seen apart from a couple of hunting Kestrel over the surrounding fields,but a lovely Kingfisher brightened things up,showing occasionally along the river and being very vocal also.
 The return leg back towards the car saw more of the same species with a further 3 Common Buzzards over the nearby woods and a decent passage of south band House Martins totalled a minimum of 78 birds.
 As i neared one of the hedegrows,i could see a pale looking falcon sat in the top and sure enough my suspicions were soon confirmed as i watched a lovely juvenile Hobby sat looking back at me.It then flew and put on an aerial performance over the pasture fields and nearby wood and i managed a few record shots,but it was too far for my lens unfortunately.What a fantastic little bird these are and it will soon be making its long,solo journey to Africa,following yesterdays adult bird at Goxhill,superb stuff.
 As i arrived back at the car more scanning revealed another distant Hobby and it was seen harassing a corvid over Worlaby Carrs and a stunning male Marsh Harrier hunted the fields in the same direction.
 So this morning provided me with an excellent few hours out and one i will be enjoying again in the near future.

Juvenile Hobby.

Juvenile Hobby.