This spring the martins arrived in 2 distinct groups several weeks apart; now, whilst some are still feeding young in their nests others have started displaying the behaviour patterns of birds who are preparing to leave. During the past few days at least a hundred of them have occupied the airspace above and around my home and I have taken dozens of photographs on “burst” mode in an attempt to capture their manic activity. These are not high quality photographs so please do not judge them as individual compositions but rather look at them as a series of snapshots portraying a feathered community.
AERIAL VIEWS
All photographs are copyright Lynne Revette Butler
lynnerevettebutler 
Cool photos, Lynne. At first, I had a brief Alfred Hitchcock moment. 🙂
Me too! It’s a good thing they aren’t any bigger.
Oh dear, are they really getting ready to leave? We have hardly had any warmth this year…As a South African I find life in England very taxing
It does feel like a long time ago that we had the 3 weeks of hot, dry weather when the watering can came out every evening but, as a Briton, I never make any assumptions about how the weather will be since that usually leads to disappointment.
Some of the martins are definitely forming squadrons; I really miss them when they leave, no little heads peeping out as I walk round the house, no more rescuing the ones who end up indoors on their inaugural flights. Do you have any near your home?
I will look out for house martins, but I am rather ignorant about birds, as my tweeter friend will tell you! I posted a rainbow (we had a heavy shower last evening) but wish I could photograph like you! I am going to take a course in the autumn
Martins nests are very distinctive as they are built of layers of mud pellets, usually stuck to the wall close up under the eaves of a house or barn. I only know about the common birds I see round here and I couldn’t recognize different wading birds from marshy areas for example.
What fun to be taking a photography course; you only see my best efforts and lots of those are down to lucky timing rather than good judgement. However, with wildlife I would rather take a poor shot than no shot at all, especially with some of the butterflies, as it is nice to add photographs at the back of the journal.
Fabulous..
Thank you. It is an exhilarating experience when they put on such a magnificent display right over your head.
The last photo is a really nice composition, the formation of the birds and the clouds create a nice movement. ☺
Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving this kind comment. I was hoping to capture something of the birds vitality and I’m pleased you think this photo achieves a feeling of movement.