Swallows and Martins

By Paul Cecil | Published July 26, 2011

Nesting season is over and the swallows and martins have been joined by numerous young. The local pond is a prime hunting ground for them as they seek out insects over the water.
Swallow

House martins

In between hunting they perch in typical fashion along the telephone wires that run between the farm and village buildings. Mainly there are swallows (young fledglings), but every now and then a martin infiltrates.

Whether this is mistaken identity or feathered aggression I'm not sure… but follow the sequence 😉

The maritn eventually gave up the struggle and flew off.

Meanwhile, down at ground level, there were more hungry birds. This early morning blackbird was proudly displaying a mouthful of worms.

And in the undergrowth by a wall, a young robin was patiently waiting to be fed.

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

This entry was posted in Birds and tagged , , , .

9 Comments

  1. Dudley July 27, 2011 at 12:07 am #

    Great set of photos. The martin upside down made me chuckle 🙂

  2. RobinL July 27, 2011 at 12:07 am #

    Words, great sequence! Made me chuckle too!

  3. gdare July 27, 2011 at 7:07 pm #

    The yelling one must be female :whistle: Like with fulmars 😆

  4. Words July 27, 2011 at 10:07 pm #

    Robin, thanks!

  5. Words July 27, 2011 at 10:07 pm #

    Darko!!!! I now think they may have both thought they were going to be fed by the other one.

  6. Words July 27, 2011 at 10:07 pm #

    Andy, thanks! I've no idea what the martin was doing, but the young swallow wasn't having any of it!

  7. gdare July 28, 2011 at 6:07 pm #

    😆

  8. SittingFox July 31, 2011 at 9:07 am #

    What a cheeky martin! Perhaps it thought that it should be a cuckoo fledgling :whistle:

  9. Words August 1, 2011 at 8:08 pm #

    Adele, it was trying its luck, but the swallow was just that bit bigger.