Last  Week's  Photographs

The Lapwing or peewit, so named after its display calls. Over the last 25 years this familiar farmland bird has suffered a significant decline in numbers and is now on the RSPB Amber Status List. All the birds on this page were photographed in the Yorkshire Dales.                                                                                             All photographs © David Packman

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has split the UK's birds in to three categories of conservation importance - red, amber and green. Red is the highest conservation priority, with species needing urgent action. Amber is the next most critical group, followed by green.

Two by two...this pair of Lapwings walked between these two Rabbits without them even turning a hair.

The colourful male Greenfinch.

In flight refuelling...the beautifully agile Swallow feeding one of its young...

...while three more of the family wait on a nearby power cable for their turn to be fed. Having watched them for over an hour it appeared they dropped far more food than they ate.

Keeping an eager eye open for a meal. Although on Amber Status the widespread Kestrel is often seen hovering over roadside verges, apart from eating small mammals, beetles and lizards it also catches small birds for food.

Adult Red Grouse hurry their young further into the moor away from my prying lens,

It looks as if this Meadow Pipit is in the middle of a tap dance.

The common House Sparrow or nowadays not so common. This noisy little bird is now struggling
to survive in the UK along with many other once common birds, and is now on Red Status.

I'm not sure about this bird, but it could be a young Wheatear.

On the wing...the Curlew is Europe's largest wading bird, and is easily recognised by its long down-curved bill and long legs. Sadly this is yet another bird on the decline caused by the loss of habitat due to agricultural intensification.

All photographs © David Packman

Caption details are based on the latest available information and are accurate to the best of my knowledge. Although the images are heavily compressed you are welcome to use them for your own non-commercial use.If you do please credit  Hampshire  Cam and add a link to these pages.  For hi-res images please contact me below.                           All Photographs © David Packman © 2002 - 2007 (All Rights Reserved)