Sparrowhawk takes off from wall

Today has been my least busy day for some while.  I decided to go to stock up on sunflower seeds for our bird feeders, which I buy at the farmshop near Bisley.  The birds have been eating heartily although I fear several squirrels are taking their fill too.

The misty morning began to clear after midday when I set off and I drove slowly enjoying the sight of the wintry views of ploughed arable fields, pastures and copses of woodlands on the top of the Cotswold escarpment which are predominantly farmed.  At the farm shop I met the three brothers and sisters who run the farm and shop and managed to get Keith to agree to letting me accompany him soon on one of his rounds.  He looks after the hundreds of bee hives that they have scattered all over the countryside even beyond Gloucestershire.  I have taken photos of him processing the honey but wanted to record the activities of a bee keeper.  So hopefully in a couple of weeks when the weather is slightly warmer we will go out together.  I hope it will make an interesting photographic record.  I have been recording various parts of the farm life and also hope to film Ashley, who does most of the ploughing and land management.

I then drove about half a mile to the local garage called The Green Shop, which is owned and run by Roger, a committed green who I met more than twenty years ago when studying permaculture.  He set up a shop to supply and fit alternative energy systems  in addition to running the garage.  As I approached the garage on a slightly busier road I saw a bird flying like a raptor looking for prey above the next door field.  I slowed down to try and spot it and then saw it dive steeply down onto the edge of the ploughed field and hit a small animal.   It rose immediately on the wing and flew about ten yards up onto the Cotswold stone wall to eat the meal.

I pulled onto the forecourt and decided I would fill up quickly with fuel and then if it was still there I'd get out my camera and try to film it.  I asked the woman who took my money if I could park as I wanted to film the bird and she was amused and agreed.  I then had to change the lens and prepare the settings, rush across the road on to the verge and quickly grab a shot.  I managed a few then moved a few yards for a better position with cars passing behind me.  Suddenly it took off and flew up just above a phone line and I followed I briefly with the camera. Unfortunately I stopped filo=ming to move around a tree blocking my view and it was then the sparrowhawk dived down onto to the edge of the field and I spotted about five pigeons take off urgently.  It hadn't caught them and it continued flying along the edge of the filed and disappeared down the valley behind a wood.  I was very thrilled to see it hunting but annoyed I hadn't captured the attack.

After waiting a few minutes hoping for its return, I went back to the car and drove on down a country lane towards Througham, the hamlet I stayed and worked in when I first came to this are in 1975.  The weather was fine although still misty and quite cloudy but it was warm and there was no wind.  I stopped in various places and took other pictures of sheep grazing against classic Cotswold backgrounds, horses grazing and running,  and then a rider on another horse who gave me her permission.  Then a farm worker arrived at the field gate, where I was standing, driving along the road on a quad bike followed by his sheep dog. He chatted to me about the farm which I had stayed on who had employed him for the last twenty years.

A bit further down the road I spotted a buzzard in a tree close to farm buildings which flew down and obviously tried to find food on the ground and then returned to a different perch.  While I stood there trying to catch another flying bird image,  I heard skylarks again which always make me feel so cheerful.  I'm really looking forward to filming them up on Minchinhampton Common again, but this time with a long lens so I can get closer top them without them being disturbed.  But I think Easter will have to come first to make sure the conditions are right.