When the leaves are thick on the trees and the grass is tall enough to hide a roe deer, locating wildlife can be slightly tricky. Some days, I feel almost like I'm back in the temperate rainforests of Canada, attempting to locate things that are very good at not showing themselves. Sometimes it's just easier to wait for birds to come and perch on the balcony railings instead!



And at least there's one bird family I can always count on to be on display Here's a corvid quartet.

Jay



Jackdaw



Carrion Crow



Magpie



Finding four corvids in a morning is quite cool but pretty much everything else in the way of birdlife seemed elusive. But never say never...

I was close to home and expecting no more pictures when a mewing buzzard-like call suddenly caught my attention. High up, high, high, high up, almost over my back garden in fact, two stream-lined raptors were wheeling and diving like outsized swifts

Hobbies!! I was shocked! A new species for my local list - and a raptor, which is always special; actually I've never seen a hobby anywhere before. They were so far above me and moving so quickly that photography was, er, difficult but I got a few rough pictures by using manual focus. Words got a better picture of a hobby about a fortnight ago.



It seems too much to hope that this beautiful and uncommon falcon is actually nesting locally. I will certainly keep a close watch out for this pair, though.

I just never know what I will see when I step outside the front door