Eurasian Hobby (Falco subbuteo)

Regular readers will recall in November that the island experienced an amazing influx of migratory birds. Denis played host to some 500 blue-cheeked bee eaters and 40 or 50 Amur falcons and 2 or 3 specimens of a larger bird of prey that at the time I was not able to properly identify though they were suspected to be Eurasian hobbies. I had taken a lot of photos and in December had the opportunity to go through them with Adrian Skerrett of the Seychelles Bird Record Committee (see link to SBRC website in sidebar). A couple of the photos were sufficiently good to be able to confirm the presence of Eurasian hobbies amongst the influx of Amurs.

It also answered the question that had arisen about the predation of bee eaters and a turtle dove that was reported during this period on the island. Amur Falcons, although recorded on occasion to take small birds, typically take insects and small vertebrates like lizards. I observed such behaviour repeatedly with birds swooping down on to the runway and capturing small prey. For the falcons to be taking bee eaters and the significantly larger turtle dove seemed surprising. Eurasian hobbies however are known bird predators and the one instance I was able to photograph of a raptor with a freshly killed bee eater was indeed a Eurasian hobby.