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Message: <blockquote data-quote="halftwo" data-source="post: 1294617" data-attributes="member: 45720">Season's SummaryFollowing many Hobby sightings over the last nine years (though with a lull at the millenium's turn), and knowing they must be nesting close by, on the 21st of July I happened to find the nest site of my local Hobby pair.This was c.2km. from a previous known nest area (of the same territory) and only c.5km. from the next nearest known nest sight.Extrapolation back from fledging meant that the egg-laying date was about June 16th., give or take a day or two.Hatching would have been about July 16th.On the 13th of August the two young made their maiden flight. By this time I suspected, and later confirmed, that there was another pair with a territory immediately north of mine, and their territory had a border just a few hundred metres from the nest site of my pair. The area around the nest was rigorously defended against intruders.Border conflicts were infrequent and settled with a fast chase.  Unique calls of both trespassed and trespasser were heard. Often the disputes would be sex-specific: male against male, female against female.Both the neighbouring pair and my pair would sometimes hunt in some of the territory adjacent to their own.The territory's size (roughly an oval) is about four kms. by two or three kms. - though they hunt outside of this area sometimes.  The male did the vast majority of food provision - both for his mate and the young.  Even after the young were well grown the female rarely left the sight of the nest - though would hunt in tandem with the male within a kilometre of the site.He would usualy perch on a lookout near the nest tree - she more often within it, or nearby too. His hunting forays would usually begin with a steep power-rise to prey height, as did hers.On returning to the nest with prey he would fly straight in to the nest tree - and as the season wore on, she would fly out to greet him more often.Though they would come and go very discretely - especially on approach - when often she would hug the ground for some distance when flying in - they were also very vocal at the nest - with intruders (Buzzards especially) and during food passes. As the young grew they too became more vocal - their voices not distinguishable from hers (to me at least.) The adult male, except when seeing off a rival, was usually silent.During these times it became obvious that these birds are endowed with superb vision - far greater accuity than humans'. This was used to great advantage when hunting; approaching prey from hundreds of metres that had been seen before the flight began. Tandem hunts grew more frequent as the young needed more food. More often than not the pair would pick an individual from a group of Swifts. The chase would last just seconds - never longer than half a minute, and the success rate was greater than 50%. Swifts were chosen more often than any other prey. If the chase went on longer the pair - or individual - would give up. Presumably this fast-paced high-energy hunt was at the limit of their capabilities - requiring a recovery period - though sometimes another chase would take place just minutes later.I was very impressed with the tireless nature of the male - sometimes out hunting for hours every day, takng ten or fifteen minutes off between forays. I never saw either adult feed themselves on avian prey that the young didn't get some of - though I saw them eat many insects.  Presumably to fuel his high-octane lifestyle the male ate while away from the nest sight.Other than Swifts and hirundines (Swallows seemed to be the next most popular prey) I never saw any other bird being killed, though I'm fairly sure I saw them being pursued nearby (with the exception of a Magpie that got too close to the nest.)To my surprise the young, once fledged, spent an inordinate amount of time on the ground. Certainly they caught insects there, and hardly ever perched as high as the nest once out of it. Gradually their flying skills increased and their perching rose with that. After a week the young moved to a nearby pylon to spend the day, returning to the nest tree to roost.Increasingly the adults were away from them, though the female was never away for too long. Corvids and raptors were mobbed still.On the 25th August it was obvious that my observations had captured just part of the behaviour, when I found two bat corpses under the pylon. I later went to watch at dusk - but the birds went to roost before the bats emerged. Maybe these were hunted at dawn.By the 27th of August I first noticed the size and colour difference between the two young: one male, one female.August 31st saw the first joint parent/young hunting forays - the young able to catch insects very deftly on the wing by then.On Sept. 11th the whole family up camp for a nearby copse. Why? I've no idea. They remained here for the remainder of the season.By Sept. 17th sightings were becoming more and more infrequent. The last definate youngster heard or seen was Sept. 19th. Since then just one single bird.The season has been exceptionally dull and wet - many days of continuous rain. The hirundines have been thinning earlier than usual. I would have thought the weather would have adversely affected the success of the pair - but cannot see this to be so.Whether three eggs were laid I do not know, but only two hatched.It has without doubt, been a season of exceptional birding days thanks to these wonderful, superlative falcons. Their hunting prowess in particular is second to none. To see them hunting at close quarters is an incredible privelege and will live with me for a long time. I've been well and truly hooked by these lovely hunters and look forward to next year to begin again! My thanks to those who have contributed and added to this saga, and to the kind comments from the 4,400+ views of the thread. Halftwo</blockquote>

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