Hobbies

In late May I saw a pair of displaying Hobbies not far from my house in Hanko. They were performing their impressive aerial show above a stand of old Scots Pines, which looked like a perfect nest site (Hobbies don’t make a nest of their own, but use an old nest of Hooded Crows instead).
Last week (6th of Aug) I decided to go and check the site to look for the nest.
As soon as I got near the suspected hotspot I could hear the frantic calling of a Hobby. The female had already spotted me and was alarming. In no time I then found first one fledgling on a low branch and soon after another slightly higher up in a nearby tree, which proved to be the nest-tree. The nest was indeed an old Hoodie’s nest some 12 m up in a pine tree, with a third young wing-flapping on the nest.

The female was perched in a dead pine some 50 m away, while the male was perched on the top of a birch-tree 30m from the nest opposite to the female. I took some pictures of the oldest young, which was perched only some 6m up, and of the adults but left the site after a short while.
During the week I visited the site every second day, in order to learn more about the post-fledging period. Two days later the chicks had already moved some 50 m from the nest and were perched together in a dead pine.

The female was constantly sat on guard within a short distance, while the male was perched on his birch-top, from where he made short hunting flights to catch dragonflies. Every now and then he would go on a longer flight, probably in pursuit of some high-flying birds.

I collected the prey remains I could find below the nest, and also the ones below the chicks perched in the dead pine. Among the prey was a male Greenfinch, a moulting male Chaffinch (hampered flight!), adult Tree Pipit, Wood Warbler, Barn Swallow or House Martin (feathers need to be checked), an adult Dunlin, and 3 Swifts (1ad 2juv) and a big Rhinoceros beetle. The most remarkable find was however a full-grown Greater Spotted Woodpecker! Not a species that comes to mind when talking about Hobby food! The other prey items were, as expected, the most common migrants of the season, added with a few unlucky local talents (the finches).

Yesterday (Aug 12th), when I last visited the family, the chicks were already flying fast between the trees and difficult to keep track of. The male was on his regular birch-top, but the female was nowhere to be found. I hope there will be more to follow.