juvenile Red-backed Shrike

had to have a look at the Cleethorpes shrike this morning before it got too busy with locals -- lovely bird set off really photo wise by the fireweed -- often accompanied by mobbing warblers in fact while the coast seemed totally dead there were 2 Whinchats, Lesser and Common Whitethroats, Reed Warbler and 2 Willow Warblers just in this little bird of scrub

changing appearance of an acro

always good to photograph autumn acros in migrant habitats -- these were all taken within a few seconds but show just how the appearance of a bird can change suddenly making critical features appear to change between species!

juvenile Hobby brood

this pair had been baffling me this year; the female is totally undemonstrative and just sits on her look out perch while I walk underneath -- the male was always absent and I was beginning to wonder if they had failed this year then this morning the male flew in scolding me and the female came up to join him but then they both soared up to about 1000 feet and drifted around catching insects -- a walk around the corner of the wood suddenly revealed three juvs sitting together on a branch -- clearly a later brood and probably only fledged about a week, no sign of them ten days ago when I last checked  --

Red-footed Falcon 2cy male

the famous south Lincs bird -- seems to have this habit of attaching dragonfly wings to its underparts --

2cy male Red-foot moult

interesting moult state -- surely it will not migrate until it has regrown some more flight feathers? after going missing for over three hours it appeared over the stubble field across the drain chasing a juv Peregrine -- looked a dicy thing to do when you are easily Peregrine prey sized

2cy male Red-footed Falcon

it would have been ungracious not to take in the Lincs 2cy male after the juv encounter -- it took 7 and a half hours but eventually it did the proverbial showing well -- one here before it did