Birds!

Swifts have been screaming overhead for the last couple of days, and I went out in the garden this morning to see if I could get an image or two.

But in the event, the male blackbird (main) was the first star of today's show. There's a pair that visit the garden every day, pecking for worms in the grass in the back garden. There's something very satisfying about watching them pull each worm up and enjoy eating it.  This male also has a very distinctive song, including a little repeated riff that we have learned to love. This morning I watched him up on the roof, singing the riff as the sun picked out the detail in his beak and feathers.

The second unexpected sighting was a sparrowhawk, moving steadily overhead from north to south, her (I think it was her) wings outstretched and barely seeming to move, as she used the air currents to good effect.  She's in the extras. It's a view from below, and quite far away, but you can still see her markings.

And there are some swifts in the extras too...