Sparrowhawk, Bees and a very peculiar egg

It was back to the pond today. It was quiet to begin, but the swallows were circling overhead, and a few ducks were playing at the water's edge. A heron lurked under the trees which overhang the pond. And then it appeared. I've seen a sparrowhawk circling above the pond several times recently, but today it came in low, sweeping across the water and causing a wild scattering of the local water fowl.

It settled briefly in one of the trees.

But not for long…

I saw it come down to the water's edge, but didn't see whether its hunt was successful. With so many fledglings around at the moment I very much suspect it (eventually) was.

There were other surprises as well today. At lunchtime I followed the flashing flight of a green woodpecker and ended up behind the village church. The woodpecker was perched on the old barn.

I was more concerned about the bees. And then I saw why; or rather 'where'. A colony has taken over a large gap in the church stonework. There was a constant stream on incoming and outgoing workers. I kept a safe distance. I don't fancy becoming the host for a swarm!

The final shot for today has me puzzled. It clearly wasn't laid in this position. It appears unbroken. I doubt very much that it's viable. But perched upright in the crook of a tree, an egg. Peculiar. And given the location in a churchyard, a curate's egg?

Nature Blog Network
Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.

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This Post Has 10 Comments

  1. Dudley

    28 Jul 2011

    Left over Easter Egg? 🙂

  2. KayFour

    28 Jul 2011

    Makes you wonder, to be sure.

  3. gdare

    28 Jul 2011

    My father kicked a wall once where a huge colony of wasps made its nest. He managed to escape but with more than 20 bites. He needed to go and see doctor. I am not sure how he did survive that. Neither is he :left:

  4. Words

    29 Jul 2011

    Erwin, I suspect a human hand. It is perfectly placed.

  5. Words

    29 Jul 2011

    Darko, OUCH! That sounds quite nasty, but I'm sure there's a lesson somewhere in there about kicking walls! I'm glad he was ok in the end.

  6. Words

    29 Jul 2011

    Andy, I don't think so, but maybe a very early one 😉

  7. Words

    29 Jul 2011

    Karen, it was still there today. Very odd.

  8. SittingFox

    31 Jul 2011

    Good to see the spr'awk. I've had one flying past my window this week but no chance for a photo. As for the egg, I blame the local fox 😉

  9. Words

    1 Aug 2011

    Adele, oh yes a fox. A tree-climbing fox, of course. Sounds good to me. I've seen quite a few spr'awks lately, after a fairly quiet start to the year.

  10. Wulpen

    19 Oct 2012

    The Photos are beautiful the egg thats a hard….problem!

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