Sketching in Nature

I love to watch the birds in my garden as well as in the neighbourhood when we take our walks along the lanes nearby.  This was a winter's day when it was cold but sunny and we had a few interesting encounters.

In spring the birds are very busy searching for food and the swallows have arrived, amazingly on the same date as last year.

This sight attracted my attention as we sat outside on a hot summer's day.  The first thing we heard was the noise made by the swallows as they gathered to chase off this predator who didn't seem in a hurry to leave!