Fighting kites

I was outside this afternoon, playing with a new lens, when this took place overhead.

Lesser Whitethroat

One of the things about spending a lot of time out and about with a camera, is that you start to realise how many species of birds are around. The differences between little brown birds start to emerge.

Jackdaw

We took a drive into the Chilterns, mostly to try and get some good kite pictures. We saw a lot but the light was variable. This jackdaw was happy to hang around though.

Black-headed gull

The slower-moving and less-agile black-headed gulls seem irritated by the amount of attention the terns are getting.

Starling

On Monday there was a huge hatch of mayflies in the Aquadrome, and an equally huge cloud of starlings descended to feast. The noise was deafening, and they all had their beaks full of tasty fat bugs.

Egg thief

Tern

The terns are back for the summer. Lovely birds - incredibly fast moving and agile.

L'hirondelle

The swallows are back.