Mikepércs: Sparrow Hawk in the Icy Water

The morning today has been really cold but it hasn't been freezing. In the village. In the bathing pool however there was a layer of ice about a quater of an inch. After some arrangement I got into the hide and waited. Nothing came for a while then the sparrow hawk appeared suddenly and landed at the side of the pool:

Sparrow Hawk (female)

Sparrow Hawk (female)

Then it walked into the icy water:

Sparrow Hawk (female)

And it even had a bath paying no attention to the cold:

Sparrow Hawk (female)

Sparrow Hawk (female)

Sparrow Hawk (female)

Sparrow Hawk (female)

Arriving at home I found a bug in the garden. I thought it was worth some shots:

Mikepércs: Marsh Tit

I hoped today the bullfinches would visit the bathing pool again but unfortunately they didn't. Only a few marsh tits came for a bath:

Marsh Tit

Marsh Tit

Marsh Tit

Mikepércs: Bullfinches at the Bathing Pool

Recently I heard their sounds very often but haven't seen them. So, this morning to my greatest surprise after having got into the hide the bullfinches appeared suddenly at the bathing pool:

Bullfinch (female)

They had some water and left.
After that a marsh tit came for some water ...:

Marsh Tit

... then the jays arrived:

Jay

Jay

Then the bullfinches returned and this time I could catch the male too:

Bullfinch (male)

Bullfinch (female)

Nowadays whenever I visit the pool a sparrow hawk appears every time. It seems it has got used to this place:

Sparrow Hawk

The jays returned many times as well as the tits:

Jay

The small group of the bullfinches reappeared a few times to have some water but I wasn't able to take other good shots on them. I hope they will come again next time too.

Near the Vekeri Lake: "Only" a Robin

I hoped today morning that there would be a good activity at the drinking pool as there was a fine sunny day. Contrarily only this robin visited the pool on no more than 2 occasions:

Robin

Robin

Near the Vekeri Lake: An Afternoon Trial

Today afternoon I planned a backlight photography. I expected the birds on this hawthorn branch:

Red Hawthorn

They landed on the side of the drinking pool but not on this twig. Jays, robins and marsh tits came to the pool but there hasn't been taken a decent shot of them.

Mikepércs: Blue Tit and Sparrow Hawk

Today morning I visited the bathing pool in the forest again. I was hoping the sparrow hawk would come again.

The first visitors were the jays but I didn't take a good shot of them. Then came a great spotted woodpecker but it didn't settle on a good place and after a few gulps got away. The tits were the following visitors, a blue tit landed as well this time. It's a very nimble bird:

Blue Tit

Blue Tit

Then suddenly the sparrow hawk appeared:

Sparrow Hawk (female)

Sparrow Hawk (female)

She drank a little then flew away at once.

Near the Vekeri Lake: Birds in the Red Hawthorn Bush

About a week ago I installed a small drinking pool on a place full of red hawthorns near the Vekeri Lake. I observed a few days later that it was visited by some of the birds. Today morning I took my hide there. After having got into the hide I didn't have to wait much for the first robin to arrive:

Then another one came as well:

Then a chiffchaff appeared on the hawthorn bush to chase away the robin:

Later a blue tit then a great tit arrived for a drink:

The jays came regularly to drink just like the robins:

Mikepércs: Sparrow Hawk at the Bathing Pool

After a long break today morning I visited the bathing pool becouse I noticed some activity there a few days ago: I saw even a coal tit there beside other tits and robins.

After some arrangements I "disappeared" in the hide. A few minutes later I could hear the jays' and one of them landed on the side of the pool. After having a bath its headdress looked like this:

Jay

Then other jays came, folowed by the blackbirds ...:

Blackbird (female)

... and the song thrushes. One of them was frightened by its own reflection whenever landed on the side of the pool. It recoiled so much as if it had seen the devil itself.
Then a robin visited the pool for a few moments:

Robin

Then came the surprise: A sparrow hawk landed on the side of the pool and walked into the water. It raised one of its legs and was standing there for half an hour and was just having rest and looking around:

Sparrow Hawk (female)

Sparrow Hawk (female)

Then came another surprise: a great tit appeared on a small tree near the pool. The distance between the tit and the sparrow hawk was only about 4-5 feet. The tit must have known that the sparrow hawk wouldn't hunt this time, it even flew across the pool and the sparrow hawk which wasn't interested in the tit either, it just had a look at it. After such a long rest the sparrow hawk came across to have a bath. On one moment it gave me such a cutting glance that I thought it had noticed me:

Sparrow Hawk (female)

Sparrow Hawk (female)

Sparrow Hawk (female)

After having finished it flew away.
The jays kept on coming to have a drink:

Jay

Jay