Up For A Hover.

 Most days I get out for a long walk, one of the advantages of being on the edge of the Sussex Downs. This week has seen more butterflies coming out of hibernation, and most of them appear to be Peacocks, although, apart from the Brimstone in my previous post I also have seen my first Small Tortoiseshell of 2022. I have now seen 8 butterflies this year and 6 were Peacock.

The Small Tortoiseshell appeared moments after one of those strange times when I was walking along one of my regular paths when I saw a Sparrowhawk watching me from a post only about 25 feet away. I immediately stopped and cursed the fact that the camera with the telephoto lens was in the rucksack on my back and I was sure that if I attempted to take the bag off to get the camera out the bird would have gone by then, so I did the only thing possible and that was to photograph the Sparrowhawk with the camera around my neck that only had a macro lens on!! Although it was a bit of a crop and the camera settings were for insects at least I had a photo of this odd moment. Moments after taking the shot the bird took off after a small bird and I last saw it crashing into a bush in pursuit. The odd background is the vineyard across the valley.

Sparrowhawk.

Small Tortoiseshell.

I have also been busy scrub clearing on my local patch and during the 68 hours I have put in over the Winter I regularly saw a male Kestrel hunting, so as I have now finished my work until next Winter I attempted a short session at the end of a walk to see if I could get any photos. This is a work in progress but I did get a couple of shots in the short time I was there. Hoping for a big improvement on my next attempt.

Male Kestrel Hovering.

Male Kestrel.