During the last month there has been a return of small birds to the countryside around me. Daily I am drawn to the windows as flocks of birds swoop and dive over the field at the back of my garden. I think they are redwings and /or fieldfares, but they are so quick in the air it is difficult to tell. They fly in flocks, often with starlings, and they roam across the UK’s countryside feeding in fields and hedgerows, arriving in October and November from Russia and Scandinavia.
For more interpretations of the word challenge visit Paula.
Cornwall in Colours 
Super picture Jude! 🙂
Love the way that the wings have been shown in different positions in this picture, Jude.
Best wishes, Pete. x
What a wonderful shot and all the better for black and white. The clouds serve you well. I’m enjoying your birds, and as always amazed by their migrations.
They leave again in March so I didn’t see them when we moved in. They are very fast, but I keep nipping outside to try and get a picture of a flock as they swoop over the field.
Such a lovely capture! Thanks, Jude.
You’re welcome Paula. I was thinking about what you were saying to someone else in the comments about the difficulty in thinking up themes for the challenges – how about one based on using the selection of colour to create a visual context / convey a mood
red/orange = passion or heat or energy
pale blue = icy cold, shivers
pastel colours = calm, soothing
grey/black&white = nostalgic, sinister
Just a thought 🙂
Thanks, Jude. I will give it a thought when I have some time. It’s a bit of a hectic weekend.
An idea for the future Paula 🙂
Many years ago in a snowy winter I had a huge pyracantha trained to a wall, one day a mass of fieldfares came and stripped every last berry!
I can see that happening, they do fly in large flocks! And descend onto the hedgerows en masse.
Lots of us ascending this week, Jude. 🙂 You should volunteer to host a Thursday Special. You’re never short of ideas and Paula’s always pushed for time.
She doesn’t seem to do the guest challenges any more from what I can see on her site.
If you offered she’d snatch your hand off 🙂 She is very controlling though (in a good way 🙂 ) so it still tends to make work for her.
It wasn’t until after I already clicked *like* that I noticed the shrubs on the bottom of the photo were also full of birds! Love the dark silhouettes of the birds in flight.
I can only get silhouettes as they speed by, and yes the hedgerows are full of them!
A bird ballet, Jude. Lovely shot.