fast food branch

...a beautiful sunny but extremely windy day today.

This afternoon, we went back to Studland Heath to check on our nightjar and her eggs. We spent a couple of hours watching from a vantage point in the nearby dunes and are happy to report that both mum and eggs are fine. There was no obvious sign that anyone else is aware of the nest's presence. On the few occasions that people walked past, mum flew off to another part of the heath. Before returning, she would make a few flypasts to ensure the coast was clear. She is absolutely beautiful in flight and it is easy to see why nightjars can be mistaken for hawks when on the wing.

During all this time we were gradually being sandblasted, so it was good to get out of the dunes. On the way back to the car, I frantically searched for something to blip and was rewarded when this female Keeeled Skimmer plucked an insect from the sky and settled on this pine branch to devour it. If you view large you can see she is still eating it...