Following on yesterday’s Interlude as the young Hobbys continue to develop their inflight hunting skills.
Presently the air is filled with big juicy plump dragonflies. Among them thousands of Tau emerald. They seem to enjoy working high in the air over the orchard near the Hobby’s domain. Perfect for developing inflight skills.
At present it seem that the female, Seraphima, has taken a holiday, and the male, Bronte, is left to bring the young one’s hunting skills to the fore. What better way than to take them into the swarms of dragonflies.
I wish I could explain how it all works, but it usually is so high up, and so far out that I’m really watching tiny shapes streak across the sky, change direction in an instant, climb up, dive down and do it all at speeds that bend my mind, let along ponder what g-forces they somehow overcome.
Fascinating.
Here are few rather than try and explain it all so inadequately.
What came next was practice on the main course
Birds as Poetry —— Just because I WANDER - --doesn't mean I'm LOST 
Wonderful images, David! Just show how quick a young Hobby can be! The Dragons are quick and erratic in the air!
Great to see!
Wishing you both all the very best for the coming year!
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G’day All good.
We all sort of noddingly know these are fast raptors. But to see them in action repeatedly over a smallish area brings a whole new appreciation of their innate abilities
We had to go down Hoppers Lane today on an errand. Bad career move. The road was backuped to the roundabout with cars trying to get into the Covid Test sites. Went round the back and walked.
Going to be a long summer now it’s here I think.
PS Little Grebes still going well.
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Yeah, I was down Hoppers Lane on Tuesday, it was pretty well blocked then. Yes the Grebes are doing famously!
I took a wander to Glen Orden early today, The Royal Spoonbill is still there and still in a difficult spot to photograph.
Not much else around although I nearly had the shot of the Grassbird, if only that bloke hadn’t slammed the gate on the boardwalk!
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Another wonderful series of images David – thanks for sharing them with us. Best wishes to you both for 2022, and let’s hope we can survive unscathed.
I get the feeling that a lot of people, not least our leaders, have thrown in the towel and said in effect “Oh well, if we are all going to get it, let’s do it.” We are doing our best to keep clear of any crowds and certainly not going to any gatherings.
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Hello Eleanor, thanks for the thoughts and for persisting reading durning the year. Even I had trouble following it as some stages. 🙂
Well we wanted to let it rip, and now they can’t get crowds or workers. Still no one asked me, so I can’t comment.
May 2022 bring some relief and give you and the Beginners group a chance to see more of the country
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Thanks David. Yes, I really hope we can get out and about a bit more this year. Beginners are descending on Point Cook Coastal Park on 22 January if you don’t have anything better to do.
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Wow David what beautiful captures, these Hobbies are certainly agile in the air. I have always been amazed at their flight speed, the few times I have seen them. A wonderful collection worth the wait. I appreciate that you capture the side of the bir world we never see, which is quite unique with your posts, and allows us to enter into a world we know little of, thanks 🙂
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