Hobby Thread 2013 (5 Viewers)

[username]

Ah, Amur amour.

My heart belongs to the Hobby H2....

Just come back from an extremely enjoyable 3 hour session with the loves of my life...:cat:

After drawing a blank for the first hour or so what we at first took for a Hobby came in and perched up..."Eh"...?

Since when do Hobbies have barred underparts...?...twas of course a Peregrine...! :smoke:

A female Hobby flew close-by 10 minutes later and we presumed that either it hadn't seen the grin or wasn't bothered....

However, after another 10 minutes all hell broke loose with the pair of Hobbies chasing the Peregrine off with a mesmerizing ferocity...but strangely not accompanied by any alarm calls...in fact quite silent.

More views followed of our birds hawking and chasing hirundines and soaring high into the blue and so ended a very fine morning indeed...

I'm a happy man...:cat:

More to come i hope...

All the best...!


http://username-beast.blogspot.co.uk/

 

[John Barber]

Still no further sightings of any Hobbies here in this part Cheshire.

 

[sid ashton]

Still no further sightings of any Hobbies here in this part Cheshire.

I had a look early afternoon and despite there being plenty of Hobby food about the only raptors to be seen were the usual two common Buzzards.

 

[Cheshire Birder]

Still no further sightings of any Hobbies here in this part Cheshire.

:-C

CB

 

[perebrine]

Beautiful bank holiday weather so took a drive over to the pond & the Red flags were up :C.
So started to walk around the perimeter with the sound of the rifles being fired in the background. There were plenty of Swifts etc & some large Dragonflies to be seen. Decided to turn back to the car & a Hobby made a very brief appearance, turned twice & drifted over the trees not to be seen again, but just seeing the glimpse of it gives me hope for next time. As I made my way back to the car a White truck with flashing lights approached & stopped, the man inside said "I'm taking the flags down now, so you can go inside"
So I went through a gate & sat by the water side for an hour, but never saw the Hobby again.
My wife has the week off work, so I may plan some picnics over there this week.

 

[perebrine]

A quick drive to the pond Today, the weather has been atrocious all week. The Red flags were up again so limited to the outside perimeter, we stayed about an hour & was treated to the sight of the Hobby in 3 brief glimpses. One brilliant dive at far too great a distance to see if it caught anything though. From reading some of the other Hobby posts, it seems I'm lucky to still see the Hobby at this time, but I wonder if the late spring has anything to do with this?

 

[stevo]

Spent 2hrs looking for Hobbies at my regular site yesterday,with no luck.

Steve.

 

[Strandman]

A bit o' sun certainly helps round here. After a Hobby-free week, 200+ Swifts over the marsh today and lo- pair of Hobbies cruising the updrafts just where they should be. So fingers crossed.

 

[perebrine]

Do you think the late Spring will affect the Hobbies breeding dates?

A bit o' sun certainly helps round here. After a Hobby-free week, 200+ Swifts over the marsh today and lo- pair of Hobbies cruising the updrafts just where they should be. So fingers crossed.

 

[perebrine]

Popped across the Pond tonight about 7:30 pm & walked past the Pond, through the woods & out into the other side, which is just Heathland as far as you can see, (I've attached a Panoramic view) & we were treated to the Hobby for a full 5 minutes, the ease in which it just flies upward has to be seen to be believed. It just seemed to disappear before my eyes & we never saw it again.

 

[John Barber]

Do you think the late Spring will affect the Hobbies breeding dates?

The Hobby breeding cycle appears to begin once the crows have vacated their own nests and larger insects are available to provide a significant part of the Hobbies diet, so it's hard to say just when the right time will arrive for the Hobbies to start breeding.

Unfortunately, at this moment in time, it looks as though our Hobbies have deserted us this year. Apart from the one brief fly though, there have been no other sighting or sound of our regular birds.

Down at Lakenheath RSPB today the Red-footed Falcon apparently had six Hobbies for company ( and probably all concentrating on hawking insects I would guess ) So maybe some birds are staying further south this year because of the late spring.

 

[username]

We strongly suspect that egg laying has begun with our Hobbies....B

Have spent many hours on site in past two weeks and observed some terrific stuff including the male bringing in a large prey item for the female to devour.

The pic attached was taken just after this event...[a grainy photo because we are keeping at a respectful distance]...

When the female had finished her meal we watched her acting as though she was on a nest...rotating around on oak bough and seemingly imagining she was rearranging a nest...most curious and fascinating...:cat:

Birds have been harder to detect last few days but yesterday the male arrived...[we knew because the female called softly]...and presume he visited her on nest.

The male then commenced hawking and was up and away with no sign of female....so we're assuming she's laying....[always a bad thing to 'assume' i know...but that's the impression we get]....

Sightings are likely to be few now unless our visits coincide with the males visits....!

Other good news is that our local Ravens have yet again successfully raised 3 young and they have been superb entertainment...great birds and great survivors...

All the best....will let you know how things progress...:cat:



http://username-beast.blogspot.co.uk/

 

[John Barber]

Glad to hear things are progressing at your end Username. At least someone has a story to tell !

Going back to perebrines question about the breeding cycle. Our local patch Hobbies last year laid around the 11th June and a chick was first seen on the 14th July, and I think that was reasonably typical of previous years. The chicks would fledge around late August and fly to Africa late September – maybe a week or more after the adults !


PS Halftwo is in sunny California at the moment, hence no reports.

 

[Strandman]

We strongly suspect that egg laying has begun with our Hobbies....B


All the best....will let you know how things progress...:cat:


http://username-beast.blogspot.co.uk/

Ya lucky dog- the bible (Chapman book) would have them laying more like week 3 of June, with possibly a trend towards later arrival and laying, so sounds like yours are ahead of the game!

 

[perebrine]

Hi,
It wouldn't allow me to attach the picture earlier as I'd made a "Panoramic" of it & I think it was too big. But Hopefully attached is the sort of scenery I'm looking at & in the 2nd one, the little black dot in the middle is the Hobby.
Can I ask which book you are referring to & any other good reading Regards to the Hobby, also is there a best time to watch them, ie early morning or later evening?
Thanks in advance
JB

Edit: Still no attachments?

 

[username]

Ya lucky dog- the bible (Chapman book) would have them laying more like week 3 of June, with possibly a trend towards later arrival and laying, so sounds like yours are ahead of the game!

Indeed Ed....[or so it 'seems']...!

I am aware of average egg laying dates but am guessing that there are so many variables involved...[ie...when a corvid nest becomes available]..etc

We first observed mating on the 20th May and again on May 30th for a long session...:cat:...and presume...[yet again]...that mating has been taking place perhaps on a daily basis...?

It interests me...[not in a perverse way]...just how many mating attempts have to take place before the female has eggs 'on the way'...?

I shall take a look at site later today...and obviously if female is 'out and about' then our presumptions about incubation beginning were wrong...:smoke: We shall see....

ps...had some good value lately...Red necked Phalaropes at Rutty and female Red foot in Cambridgeshire...plus some great dragons...scarce chasers and hairy dragonflies....oh...and the critter in attached photo...[i do like snakes]....B

All the best Ed...[and all]...!


http://username-beast.blogspot.co.uk/

 

[John Barber]

Hi,
Regards to the Hobby, also is there a best time to watch them, ie early morning or later evening?
Thanks in advance
JB

Once the female hunkers down on the nest things may be relatively quiet, save for the occasional visit from the male bringing in food - this could be almost anytime of the day to be honest – at which time there may be calling and greeting activity. There may also be noisy activity if the adults are found defending the nest site area from corvids and other predators. Activity intensifies further, the larger the chicks grow, when both adults may be out hunting for food, although one bird, usually the female, will stay close to the nest. Food passes between adults are always exciting to see. And if you are really lucky you may even see the adults chase down a Swift or Swallow in flight – absolutely amazing. I think I’ve seen this about five or six times.

If you want to get a more precise flavour of the exact unfolding of events, have a look at Hobby Thread 2011 or 2010 via the ‘ search forum ‘ box. You can soon skim through the numerous pages to get an idea of what happens in a typical Hobby breeding season. PS If you want to see a photo’s of last years Hobby chick which we ringed, have a look at Hobby thread 2012. Sadly however, this particular chick did not survive as it was predated – probably by a buzzard.

 

[jpoyner]

Birds have been seen back in Strathspey this year....the UKs most northerly breeding Hobbys.

 

[John Barber]

Birds have been seen back in Strathspey this year....the UKs most northerly breeding Hobbys.

Very jealous jpoyner ! And very interesting to hear Hobbies are nesting so far North.

 

[John Barber]

Quick note: Just had a look at Hobby Thread 2011 and we didn't manage to locate our local nesting site until the 19th July, I hadn't realised it was so late. So there is still time yet ( but I have a feeling we will need to broaden our search area this year )