30 days Wild - Day 23 - Evening by the river

For Day 23 of 30 Days Wild we went down to watch the Swallows and House Martins by the river.

It was a beautiful evening with the sun blazing down. 

The sun on the water made fascinating reflections of the trees from the riverbank. It was extremely peaceful sitting at the waters edge listening to the birds singing.

My mums friend lives by the river, so while she sat in the garden drinking tea and chatting, I took photos, then my sister, my friend and I went and explored the fields and river side.

A local fisherman told us where he often sees Water Voles so I am looking forward to spending some time in the summer holidays looking for them.

The House Martins live right underneath my friends house and come back every year. It is amazing to think that they come back to the same house from Africa every summer.

They are quiet easy to tell the House Martins apart from the Swallows because the Swallows have a red chin and a sharp pointed tail.

Both birds spend time flying along the river side catching small flies.

The Swallows are nesting right underneath the weir, where it is safe from predators. 

  

On the road by the lock there were a few Grey Wagtails.
 My favourite part of this bird is how it wags its tail around.

The House Martins were going up under the eaves of the house. They are just starting to build nests.

Out on the path a female sparrow had caught a small Stag beetle and was pecking it, throwing it up in the air and pecking it some more. The bird flew off when we got closer but the beetle was already dead.

Reflections of Swallows in the water

Our local farmer leaves wide strips of the field for the wild flowers to grow and the Barn Owls like to hunt along these strips.
We sat and watched a Barn owl for ages as it took food back to its nest, then came out hunting again.
While we were watching the Owl, a Raven flew over and a Red Kite passed us with a Swallow or House Martin in its talons.