Biting his Head Off

The hobby, small and agile enough to twist and turn after a dragonfly, snatch the insect in it's claws and hold it to it's beak to eat, without pausing in flight! 

Sitting on the edge of a lake watching the hobbies hunt dragons was a privilege this beautiful morning with the sun shining on the water. The scythe-shaped wings of at least three or four were tumbling, gliding and looping in their family group, with the youngsters, trying to emulate mum and dad but in the case of the Extra, he missed and in my next frame he did a  quick upward  then vertical climb with the egg-laying common darters possibly suffering from shock, a little ruffled but still ok. Tricky to get on camera as they are fast - covering the distance very quickly. You can spot the adults as they are the only falcon adult with red/brown trousers.

The birds breed in open country with scattered trees using the old nests of crows, sparrowhawks and sometimes even squirrels' drays. The eggs are laid in June and their hatching coincides with the abundance of swallows on which they can be fed. They also eat insects, grasshoppers and occasionally bats. There are about 2,800 breeding pairs in the UK according to the RSPB stats.