BIRDWATCH AT RSPB PULBOROUGH BROOKS

OVER the last week, we have seen hundreds of house martins, swallows and sand martins passing over the reserve on their way south.

Poor weather often drives these birds close to the ground to feed, when they are more commonly seen (or rather not seen!) high in the sky.

Cold, cloudy weather made the migration of these birds much more visible than normal as they seek shelter and food at lower levels.

At this time of year,, when we see large numbers of martins passing through, we usually also see a number of their main predators, the hobby, Falco subbuteo, and this year is no exception.

Hobbies routinely hunt all kinds of small birds and large insects, usually over open country or high in the sky. They are migratory arriving in the UK in late April and early May and departing for Africa during September and October.

To say that hobbies are quick and agile is a bit like saying Lewis Hamilton is a touch brisk in a motorcar. Of all our birds of prey, the hobby is capable of the most graceful, lazy manoeuvres followed by turns of remarkable speed. They are similar in size to our most common member of the falcon family, the kestrel, but they are a markedly different shape with much longer, narrower wings and shorter tail.

They do not hover like a kestrel, but compensate by doing pretty much everything else from dramatic stoops and climbs to twists and turns and often to seem to turn over.

For full feature see West Sussex Gazette August 29