Geordieborn

I just posted on our local forum asking if others had seen or heard these lovely birds and wondered how far spread they are? We have also seen them many years ago in Tuscany and I know they have been spotted and even nested in the south of the UK. We nearly always hear them long before we spot them. The other day we were privileged to see around 15 or more of these birds within 1-2 meters above us. They were stalling mid-air and one did so on the rise and back-flipped to catch something (wasp or hornet I guess). They always seem to be about this time of year and judging by the varied colour, size and activity there is a mixture of young and parent birds. If you listen to them on (audio & picture only - NO video) with the volume down a bit it’s an unmistakeable call to pick up for real. The picture with those wonderful colours does not really do it justice when you see them moving and the light is catching them.

philat98

mikelincs

There are plenty in the south of Spain.

philat98

There would be in Italy except the local hunters are out with their nets here. Our neighbour keeps two pigeons wired to posts so that he can catch his dinner.