I love visiting in late spring early summer when there are usually lots of hobbies in the air....Often wondered though...where do they go? I'm guessing they don't head straight back to Africa....but head further inland..? Where would I stand a good chance of seeing them from now on would you think??
Hello there,
They will be quite busy nesting at the moment. There are around 2,200 pairs in Britain and they are quite a numerous breeding bird in East Anglia (although we only tend to get one or two breeding pairs a year here!) We still have small numbers present and they are being seen most days.
I hope that helps,
David
You see them a lot at Minsmere, and we also saw one at The Lodge yesterday.
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Hmm....thanks folks.......I know we can still see one or two at Minsmere/Lakenheath etc....but there have been so many in the air at once earlier in the year...... Is it just that they congregate then spread out....or maybe they display/mate over centres like Lakenheath then quietly settle down to breed...I guess the question is why the high numbers early on and then far fewer later..??
Thank you for your reply,
One possible theory is that birds use sites like Lakenheath Fen and the Avalon Marshes as a staging point when they migrate in from Africa. Perhaps the "eastern" breeding birds meet up at Lakenheath Fen and the "western" breeding birds meet up on the Avalon Marshes.
It is difficult to say what they are all eating when they arrive but I suppose it is may flies and other flying insects. There are not usually many dragonflies on the wing at that time of year.
It is a great spectacle to see nonetheless though!