Sparrowhawk

I get regular visits by Sparrowhawks at my feeding stations every winter, but this year has been exceptional so far. There are so many visits that I wonder if it is more than one individual. It does not catch the small birds it is after very often and does not always land, but has a favourite perch when it does. I have plenty of pictures already and wonder what I should try next. I have provided dead mice and day old chicks on the branch, but it does not even look at them, let alone eat them.

Sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus, single male on branch, Warwickshire, October 2015

Sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus, single male on branch, Warwickshire, October 2015

Sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus, single male on branch, Warwickshire, October 2015

Great bustard

Taken in Wiltshire where these birds are being reintroduced by The Great Bustard Group. Canon 7d mk2, 100-400mm Mk2 lens. 400 iso. 1/2500th at f5.6

South Uist

I have just returned from a week on South Uist in the Hebrides. I spent a fair bit of time lying on the beach photographing waders, but got nothing unusual. The most interesting pictures were the large flocks of starling that were feeding on flies on the seaweed and gathering to roost in reedbeds of an evening. All pictures taken with the Canon 7d Mk2 and the 100-400mm MK 2 zoom.

Starling, Sturnus vulgaris. Group on telegraph wires gathering to roost, South Uist, Hebrides, September 2015

Starling, Sturnus vulgaris. Group on telegraph wires gathering to roost, South Uist, Hebrides, September 2015

Starling, Sturnus vulgaris. group gathering to roost, South Uist, Hebrides, September 2015