The hobby and the high speed camera

Good luck trying to film the Hobbies in slow-mo, if you do manage to get it I'm sure it will be one of the most spectacular pieces ever done for Springwatch! Great to see that footage of the water balloon again ;) keep up all the good work folks we all appreciate it!

As luck would have it I've had a great time today viewing a hobby from a hide in college lake. Could see so clearly even without using my monocular, the hide saw quite a lot of excitement and - the piece de resistance - a red footed falcon!!!! top that!!! None of us knew what it was (even the more experienced of us) but I found it in my european birdbook. What a trhill. I knew one had been seen in the area but never expected to see it - I'd never expect to get that lucky!

brilliant cant wait to see this

Spring watch is quite good but why do you and many other programmes treat us like children and say here we are looking at the Hobby and later on in the programme we will show you some footage of them flying. Then we see 2 minutes of them flying but then we are told that with a special camera we can see it in slow mo, and if we keep watching we can see that as well in another 5 minutes, and then we see a sugar lump falling into a cup of tea, and if we keep watching we might see the Hobby in slow mo. and then 5 minutes later we see a clip of the hobby in slow mo. and we are told that if we are good boys and girls and keep watching maybe even into next week,then we might see another clip where it catches a dragon fly in slow mo, and so on and so on.



why not treat us like adults and let us see a complete article on the Hobby with it in captivity, normal speed film and then slow mo. all in one hit. Are you so scared that we will loose interest and switch off, if there is not another little highlight just 5 minutes away to keep us watching???



I do have an attention span of more than 5 minutes and i suspect so do most of your viewers.

Simon, Brilliant photography of the Hobby with the slow motion camera. I saw a Swallow been pursued by two Hobbies in front of the Tower hide on the RSPB Arne Reserve. The Swallow flew back from where it had come behind the hide still pursued by the Hobbies so I never saw if it was caught.+

Clive Hawkins

hi simon i have got some still shot of a hobby getting a fly at high speed you can see them on my flickr page 2 on . great show all the best .

I note that Simon's article on evasion behaviour of the Four Spotted chaser in presence of a Hobby is not unusual to me! I have seen this behaviour on one occasion, in Devon ,June 2008.

On this occasion, a Hairy dragonfly was patrolling its beat over a pond for approx 10mins, when in came a Hobby.

Immediately the Hairy disappeared somewhere into surrounding foliage. The Hobby hunted for 10mins or so. Once it had left, the Hairy soon reappeared and continue to patrol its beat whilst hunting.

On explaining this to two local Odonata experts, they politely rediculed my comments!