I was thrilled today to return to my marsh after a couple of weeks away. Now well and truly in to Autumn a few things have changed, it’s a bit colder and very much wetter and water-logged but the air was clean and the sun very bright. The Black-tailed Godwits were still on the pond by the path and what seemed to be lots of Meadow Pippits but I just could not get a good view. Stonechats were showing very well and my “in-flight” photography skills are really coming together. I took this little series of shots and I have to say that the result pleases me quite a bit. I have never really studied Stonechats feeding behaviour before but I can tell you that they behave very much like a Flycatcher. This one was on a high very exposed branch and he didn’t much care that I was near-by. Then he would make a darting flight out from his perch and return with his prey to the same one either with prey or not. This made photography quite simple once I had realised what he was up to. In the first shot you can see that he has a Hoverfly in his mouth. I can even tell you that it is Brindled Hoverfly, the only species with vertical stripes on the thorax!

The Garden gets better and better at this time of the year. Today a Comma Butterfly was around my little top pond. The Coal Tits were yet again in the garden and the hide is set up waiting for that great photo opportunity which is on the way as soon as the light is just right so keep checking back.