Take off!

Yesterday I caught a bird landing (and thank you for all your kind comments and a turn in the spotlight!) and today I was fascinated by the take-off of this lapwing or peewit.

It is amazing what you learn about birds when you try and take their photo and I have learned to try and recognise the patterns in their behaviour and be ready for the shot. This one was very obliging as he kept returning to the same resting place in the field. He would pause for about 30 seconds and then take off in a long horizontal action before sweeping upwards, wavering about in flight for a minute or two and then back down to roughly the same spot. The other thing that amazes me is that birds comply with nearly everything that the RSPB guide says about them - It did make it's peewit noise, it did fly in a wavering pattern, it was on arable ground, and it did appear to be catching insects while flying. They are very clever!

The weekend is here and I am off to the Highland Wildlife park tomorrow to catch up with my grandsons and family. Yipee!