going going gone

Well finally it does look as as if the Hobbies are finally on their way.  All three juveniles still camped out in their favourite two oaks mid-week, but only two yesterday and one today.   But the last one still seems to be doing nicely- skimming low over the sugarbeet field to pluck Willow Emerald Damselflies out of the riverside hedge.  Tense moment when a presumed migrant juvenile Peregrine drifted in from the north:  here's a digiscope of the young Hobby looking up and keeping an eye.

Time to head south!

Meantimes one last Hobby painting for the season- hopefully some sense of lazy late September, with the ash beginning to turn to autumn

branching out

The young Hobbies are racing ahead in the fine weather:  whizzing about, chasing butterflies and generally enjoying these early autumn days.

I wouldn't claim to any serious digiscoping skills, but its startling to see how much detail you can capture these days from 300 metres + .  Google maps tells me it is 365 metres from my watchpoint to the base of their tree, but that little pencil-thin eyebrow still carries all the way, so long as there's no heat haze.

A distinct improvement in viewing conditions today as they've set up camp in a stag-topped oak close to the footpath.  It's certainly a different digiscoping proposition!

But enough of digipics- it's time for a painting of the gang of 3:  here's a working-out of bird 1 preening and hopefully birds 2 and 3 to follow.