Hobby Thread 2009 (1 Viewer)

[halftwo]

Sept.22nd. Nowt...

14:30 - 16:15 ish.

Cool, breezy, overcast largely.

JB had been there for half an hour by the time I arrived. We did a circuit and looked for a couple of hours - and there was a brief possible glimpse which might, just might, have been the Hobby. But too brief to call.

Plenty of hirundines hanging about nearby - but a Sparrowhawk and a few Buzzards were the only raptors today.

Maybe he has gone. Maybe.

 

[username]

'They think it's all over'....?

In Leicester it seems far from over H2!! Observed the male come in with food today and as usual, there was a mad ki ki ki-ing and a flurry of feathery excitement from the trio of juveniles!
I enjoyed the youngsters effortless 'sky skimming' overhead and often far beyond, pinned like anchor shaped badges against layers of cumulus cloud, [they must surely belong to some sort of 'mile high' club]!
Winds blew with gathering strength from the west as they played and stooped and hawked above the newly harvested fields. They seemed, if one can say such a thing, happy!
I was in awe of the speed at which they traversed this ever-changing landscape. I also...[imagined]...as i often do, what it would be like to feel the air rushing by and feel that 'lift' and control that these, and many other species, experience. [I always feel very privileged to be in the presence of such grace and beauty....forgive my unusually poetic license].....

ps....there was a program on channel four recently about the 'human bird'...don't know if anyone watched it?....was really quite breath-taking....! It was about as close as you could get to the sensation of true 'flight' like a bird...!

 

[John Barber]

U, Your making us jealous !

PS Didn't see the channel 4 programme - what's the human bird thing about exactly ?

 

[username]

U, Your making us jealous !

PS Didn't see the channel 4 programme - what's the human bird thing about exactly ?

Sorry John...didn't mean to make you jealous!

The first episode of channel fours 'daredevils' had this guy...forget his name...who indulged in what, i think, is called 'close proximity' flying. This entails sporting a special sky-diving suit with flap-like membranes between arms and torso...and the same special membrane material which stretches out between legs! So someone jumping out of a plane can fly like a bird...really was quite incredible.
[One of this guys friends, when doing a glide in excess of 100 miles an hour, flew straight into a bridge in Colorado...he was meant to go over it...big 'ouch'...needless to say he died instantly]! Anyway...this 'guys' ambition was to fly down the Matterhorn and he'd only broken his hand a week or so before...but he still went ahead! He jumped from a helicopter and plummeted at high speed from the top of mountain, narrowly missing the peak by feet, and shot round all these crags, uncomfortably close, until eventually releasing a 'chute' to land safely!! Never seen anything quite like it...worth trying to watch it on 'channel4 on demand' if you can!

 

[John Barber]

Thanks U. Personally, I think I'll keep my feet firmly on the ground !

 

[username]

Thanks U. Personally, I think I'll keep my feet firmly on the ground !

I don't blame you John...!!

 

[John Barber]

End Of The Road ?

13.30 - 15.00

Cloudy, slight breeze 17c

Searched the whole site for 90 minutes with no sign of the remaining bird. I think he's finally flown.

Bumped into H on the way home. Lets see if he has better luck to report later.

 

[halftwo]

Sept 23rd. : The Cheshire Contigent Bows Out.

14:45 - 15:45

Weather as JB says - very pleasant.

I too did a complete circuit. No show. I reckon we are Hobby-less.

A Kestrel high and heading south gave me pause - but a Kestrel it was.

Bon voyage little fella.

Over to you, U. Final chapter to the Leicestershire family.

 

[username]

Okay H2.......! We thought that your birds would be the first to go....and i am pleased, as i bet you all are, that your story ended well! I'm still wondering how many more hobby 'stories' i have to tell from the land of the Leicester Low Listers!
Managed to grab some time today to amble up to the 'shooters' oak tree...and there they perched...as usual...like the 'three..[not very wise].. monkeys! I can't help but smile to myself when i see them perched side by side by side like they do...it just seems quite comical!
Squally showers this afternoon forced me to make shelter under a leaning ash tree whilst my 'trio' of young hobbies revolved their tiny heads, as if to say, 'what's all this wet stuff about'? They appeared bemused, but perhaps it was just me projecting my thoughts again! After 15 minutes or so, one of the youngsters decided that it would be great fun to get even wetter, so, for some unknown reason, he started chasing bedraggled woodpigeons round and round a willow tree. Perhaps he was just getting bored of waiting for the adult male to arrive with an afternoon snack? He, or she, practiced 'close proximity flying', with sudden, but subtle, wing adjustments and splaying briefly the tiger-chesnut tail feather markings. Having harassed enough pigeons, and presumably having got wet enough, he returned to his family who seemed fairly unimpressed by his antics.
Buzzards almost 'littered' the air and seemed to be cruising above every skyline, holding their wings in shallow 'V's as they flew the waves of westerly winds.
A nearby tractor made screeching mechanical sounds as it tilled the stubble into earth...autumn is here...and so still are my reluctant to leave hobbies!

ps...by the way...many thanks H2 for starting this thread....i have been 'hooked on hobbies' for a very long time....has been great fun:t:

 

[John Barber]

Great account U.

The gaze of the the whole Hobby world is now upon U !

 

[joannec]

14:45 - 15:45

Weather as JB says - very pleasant.

I too did a complete circuit. No show. I reckon we are Hobby-less.

A Kestrel high and heading south gave me pause - but a Kestrel it was.

Bon voyage little fella.

Over to you, U. Final chapter to the Leicestershire family.

B to him. I hope he makes it H. This has been a great thread; one of the best. My southern hobbies? I never did connect with a family but saw plenty of hobbies all summer, mostly hawking insects. No shortage of them here.:t:

I'm going to Dungeness tomorrow.....no telling what I'll see but hobbies are definitely on the cards.

 

[username]

Great account U.

The gaze of the the whole Hobby world is now upon U !

Chuckle!

 

[halftwo]

so, for some unknown reason, he started chasing bedraggled woodpigeons round and round a willow tree. Perhaps he was just getting bored of waiting for the adult male to arrive with an afternoon snack?

They aren't called Hobbies for nothing, U

ps...by the way...many thanks H2 for starting this thread....i have been 'hooked on hobbies' for a very long time....has been great fun:t:

Yes, it has. Roll on next spring!

And thanks, Joanne. It's been a pleasure.

 

[sid ashton]

Black-browed Albatross

Black browed Albatross ??? ( is that a real bird ? ) If it was, it wasn't reported on the sightings board at the birding centre.

John - Google "black-browed albatross birdguides"

 

[sid ashton]

Final Sighting

Hi John,
Though Sid missed him he was there yesterday. So you should be OK for a sighting today. Check especially the newly ploughed field at the back. He seems to like that.

H/2 given the fact that you didn't actually see him yesterday could it not have been just possible that he left after you had seen him and before I arrived on Monday????

 

[halftwo]

H/2 given the fact that you didn't actually see him yesterday could it not have been just possible that he left after you had seen him and before I arrived on Monday????

Could be. We'll never know.
The equinox would be propitious - call of the southern sun now equator-passed.

I've just checked: last date last year was Sept 20th. How's that for consistancy?!

 

[John Barber]

What do all the Cheshire folk do tomorrow - that's what I want to know !!!!!!!!

Maybe we should all encamp to Leicestershire ?

 

[Irene Boston]

Thanks

Just wanted to say how much I've enjoyed this thread through the summer. Thanks everyone for sharing their experiences - both high and low.

I never did track down 'my' local Hobbies but did get some spectacular views in other territories which kept the old Hobby fix going. It's certainly spurred me on to do better next year.

Hope H2's little guy makes it and U keep going with the updates till yours go, just to ease us into the complete cold turkey symptoms gently!

All the best
Irene

 

[username]

Just wanted to say how much I've enjoyed this thread through the summer. Thanks everyone for sharing their experiences - both high and low.

I never did track down 'my' local Hobbies but did get some spectacular views in other territories which kept the old Hobby fix going. It's certainly spurred me on to do better next year.

Hope H2's little guy makes it and U keep going with the updates till yours go, just to ease us into the complete cold turkey symptoms gently!

All the best
Irene

I will do my best Irene to provide more vicarious hobby pleasures until they depart!...which surely...surely...must be within the next five days?! [My hobbies will be feeding on 'cold turkey' if they stay much longer...christmas is coming]
Perhaps next year you may be more successful in locating a breeding pair...tho as demonstrated...it can prove to be quite difficult Persistence and luck the main components.....!

ps.....in the past two winters a female peregrine has taken up residence around the 'hobby area'...perhaps if she appears again it will help me with my hobby 'withdrawals...!
[J.A.Bakers book 'The Peregrine' inspired me many years ago]......i can read that book time and time again....!

 

[halftwo]

[J.A.Bakers book 'The Peregrine' inspired me many years ago

Ah, that's where the poetic bits come from, U!
Gotta say it's a great & original book.
His 'Hill of Summer' is good too.